An ex-flight attendant who claims racism, is suing her former airline after being fired. Chelsia Blackmon claims her employer discriminated against her because of her color when it terminated her employment, citing safety concerns over her inability to fit into a crew seat.
Blackmon was employed as a flight attendant by Spirit Airlines last summer after completing her training and certification requirements. On September 3, 2021, when the airline assigned her to the crew of an Airbus 319, an issue surfaced since she was too big to buckle up in her jump seat.
A fired flight attendant told to fit into a “too small” jump seat is suing her former employer, Spirit Airlines, on the grounds of racial discrimination https://t.co/Thn68unky9
— Independent.ie (@Independent_ie) December 10, 2022
She was taken off the aircraft by the company, who then asked her to take part in an investigative meeting on September 13 after putting her on administrative leave for safety reasons. She was requested by airline staff members to demonstrate that she could belt herself into a jump seat on October 8, but she failed once more. According to Blackmon, the seat was too narrow. In the beginning of November, the airline fired her because she couldn’t secure herself safely.
Blackmon, who is black, acknowledges that Spirit Airlines gave her from September 3 to October 12 to lose enough weight to perform her job, but she claims that the airline gave a white woman hired around the same time as her several months to slim down enough to meet the jumpseat requirement. Blackmon has filed suit against Spirit Airlines in the US District Court for southern Florida, alleging that unlawful employment practices caused her “mental anguish and suffering.” Blackmon claims the firm treated her unfairly because of her race and is suing the airline for back pay and punitive damages.
