Two Passengers Arrested, Two Spirit Agents Hurt in Fight

Welcome to yet another installment of The Naughty Passenger Chronicles, a seemingly daily diary and an unending list of rude, unruly and otherwise disruptive airline passengers making headlines across the country.

This time, a dispute over a carry-on bag led to a physical assault that left two Spirit Airlines workers injured and two passengers in handcuffs on Sunday.

The incident apparently started when the passengers were boarding Flight 646 from Detroit to Atlanta and gate agents asked one to verify that the carry-on in question was of a size and dimension to bring on the plane, or if it had to be checked.

Apparently, the passengers and two of his fellow travelers took umbrage and “attacked our agents without provocation,” Spirit Airlines said in a statement.

One of the agents was taken to a nearby hospital after the incident, airline officials said. Two passengers were arrested and the third was cited by police and released.

“All of us at Spirit wish the agents a speedy recovery and thank them for their courage and professionalism,” the airline said in an email statement. “We also thank law enforcement for responding quickly and arresting those involved in the attack. This violent behavior is completely unacceptable and has absolutely no place in airports or any other place of business. We will not tolerate abusive behavior of any kind and these passengers will be banned from any future travel with Spirit. Further questions about this incident should be referred to law enforcement.”

It is incidents like this that prompted Delta CEO Ed Bastian to threaten a permanent ban for any passengers who exhibit disruptive behavior.