FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., June 12 (UPI) -- Pilots for Florida's Spirit Airlines declared a strike Saturday morning after three years of negotiations failed to produce a new contract, the union said.
A spokesman for the local unit of the Air Line Pilot's Association said Spirit pilots have been instructed to go home, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.
Company spokeswoman Misty Pinson said agents have been trying to call customers affected by canceled flights.
Passengers with Spirit reservations should contact the airline to confirm flight availability, Pinson said.
Hundreds of Spirit passengers were unable to complete trips Friday after the company "pre-canceled" nearly a dozen departures from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport where Spirit is the largest carrier.
The airline and representatives of the pilots union extended contract negotiations past Saturday's 12:01 a.m. strike deadline and were scheduled to meet again later in the day.
There was no word on whether the parties were close to agreement on salaries and benefits.
