Black Spirit Airlines flight attendant sues fired for being too overweight to buckle her jumpseat

A former Spirit Airlines flight attendant is now suing the company after claiming she was discriminated against and wrongfully fired because she was too overweight to strap herself into her booster seat.

Chelsia Blackmon, who is African-American, claims to be a victim of racial profiling after a white colleague who she claimed also couldn’t “fit” in the booster seat and buckle up was still able to keep his job after being given the opportunity . lose weight.

Although there is no set weight limit for flight attendants with the airline, they are required to be able to fit inside and buckle up the booster seat for safety.

On social media, some have suggested that women at least a size 18, with a waist of about 40 inches, could easily fit into the fold-flat seat on most commercial airliners.

During his training course, Blackmon was required to demonstrate that he could buckle up a flight attendant’s booster seat with a four-point harness, but when it came to flights in the Airbus A319, he couldn’t buckle up.

Blackmon’s complaint, filed last month in Florida, where Spirit is based, says he completed and passed all training and compliance protocols, including being attached to a booster seat with a four-point harness.

Blackmon, who hails from Houston, Texas, says he successfully demonstrated that he could buckle up the various booster seats and harnesses used on Spirit’s Airbus A320 series aircraft and had flown several trips without any problems.

It was only after he was working a flight on September 3, 2021 on the Airbus A319 aircraft that he discovered that the folding seat could not be buckled in due to its size.

He was not allowed to wear an extender belt and was asked to leave the plane.

Blackmon was immediately placed on administrative leave before a meeting was held to discuss her future.

According to the complaint, at the meeting he was asked to demonstrate that he could properly buckle up in a booster seat.

The following month, in October 2021, Blackmon was once again asked to buckle up a jump seat so she could work onboard a flight, but found it was once again too small for her.

She was then banned from service shortly thereafter and fired in November for not being able to fit into the seat.

In court documents seen by Business Insider Blackmon directly accuses Spirit of racial profiling, pointing to how a white flight attendant who was just starting out with the airline faced the same problem with the jump seat, but was given several months before being asked to prove she could “fit” in the seat. .

Chelsia Blackmon accuses Spirit Airline of racial profiling after she was fired because she didn’t fit in the crew’s booster seat.

Blackmon is seeking an unspecified amount of compensation in the form of back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages.

Due to “unlawful and discriminatory differential treatment based on his race,” Blackmon has suffered “loss of wages, compensatory damages, mental anguish, and suffering,” the complaint details.

She said the airline’s actions “were willful, malicious and in reckless disregard of your civil rights.”

The lawsuit does not explain whether Blackmon gained weight after completing his training course or whether he believes some booster seat harnesses were smaller than designed.

Blackmon is seeking back pay, damages and legal costs in a jury trial.

The lawsuit does not explain whether Blackmon gained weight after completing his training course or whether he believes some booster seat harnesses were smaller than designed.