Hundreds were left stranded at the airlines' Florida terminal late Monday. The chaos was the latest instance of airlines dealing with high-profile customer frustration.
Problems began last month with cellphone video capturing a passenger being dragged off a United Airlines flight. Other horror stories from customers surfaced later involving flights on Delta and American airlines.
Deputies arrested three people from New York in the Fort Lauderdale airport, charging them with inciting a riot, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and trespassing.
The discount airline says pilots are refusing to pick up open flying assignments, which Spirit claims is an illegal and concerted plot by the Air Line Pilots Association to apply pressure during contract negotiations. It has filed a lawsuit, saying it has had to cancel about 300 flights nationally and internationally over the past week because of the union's actions. Another 36 were canceled yesterday.
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Spirit spokesman Paul Berry issued a statement apologising to customers and saying the company is "shocked and saddened" by the Fort Lauderdale melee.
"We believe this is the result of intimidation tactics by a limited number of our pilots affecting the behavior of the larger group," Berry said.
The union has denied the accusation, but said in a statement that its members will obey the judge's order with the goal of helping Spirit resume normal operations.