Violence erupts at a Florida airport after Spirit Airlines cancellations

Spirit Airlines

spirit.com

Spirit Airlines, Inc. is an American Ultra Low Cost Carrier, headquartered in Miramar, Florida. Spirit operates scheduled flights throughout the United States and in the Caribbean, Mexico, Latin America, and South America. Wikipedia

Customer service: +1 801-401-2222

Bag information: In economy, carry-on $55, 1st checked $50. Advance purchase discount available. More Spirit Airlines bag information

Stock price: SAVE (NASDAQ) $56.59 +0.48 (+0.85%)
May 10, 10:15 AM EDT - Disclaimer

Headquarters: Miramar, Florida, United States

Destinations: 60

CEO: Robert L. Fornaro (Jan 5, 2016–)

Motto: Less money. More go

FLORIDA (NYTIMES) - Passengers at an airport in Florida protested on Monday night (May 8) after the cancellation of multiple flights, leading to a confrontation with airline employees and sheriff's deputies who arrested three travellers while attempting to restore order.

According to the Broward County Sheriff's Office, the arrests were made after customers screamed at and threatened Spirit Airline employees, inciting unrest in a crowd of about 500 people at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Their anger was set off by the flight cancellations, the sheriff's office said in a statement, and deputies were sent in to calm the crowd.


 Florida

US State

Florida is the southeasternmost U.S. state, with the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. It has hundreds of miles of beaches. The city of Miami is known for its Latin-American cultural influences and notable arts scene, as well as its nightlife, especially in upscale South Beach. Orlando is famed for theme parks, including Walt Disney World.

Capital: Tallahassee

Minimum wage: 8.10 USD per hour (Jan 1, 2017)

Population: 20.27 million (2015)

U.S. House delegation: 16 Republicans, 11 Democrats (list)

Spoken languages: Predominantly English and Spanish

   
Flight Aware, a flight-tracking site, indicated that 11 Spirit Airlines flights were cancelled at the airport on Monday (May 8) and that 30 were delayed.


Arrest reports assert that those detained were threatening to harm airline employees and challenging them to fights. All three of the people who were arrested were charged with disorderly conduct, inciting a riot and resisting arrest.

Video taken at the airport and posted to social media showed a scrum of passengers jostling with sheriff's deputies.


Paul Berry, a spokesman for the airline, said that Spirit was "shocked and saddened" by the violence and blamed the cancellations on airline pilots who he said were engaged in "unlawful labour activity" that was "designed to disrupt Spirit operations".

The airline filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday (May 8) against the Air Line Pilots Association, International, which represents Spirit's pilots, accusing it of coordinating a "pervasive illegal work slowdown" that it said had led to the cancellation of about 300 Spirit flights since the beginning of May and had interfered with the travel plans of over 20,000 passengers.

The pilots' union disputed the airline's account, calling the lawsuit "unwarranted and counterproductive".

On Tuesday (May 9), however, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order sought by the airline, instructing Spirit pilots and the union to refrain from activities aimed at disrupting normal operations, at least until a hearing scheduled for Monday (May 15).

"The court has spoken and Spirit pilots will fully comply with the order handed down, which is completely in line with our overriding goal: the resumption of normal operations," the union said in a statement. "We call on the company to join forces with ALPA and the Spirit pilots to do just that."

Senator Bill Nelson of Florida said from the floor of the US Senate on Tuesday (May 9) that he had spoken to the leaders of the airline and the union and encouraged them to "get this thing fixed and get it fixed quick".

The industry has seen periodic labour tension between pilots and carriers since the early part of the decade, as carriers began to recover from years of losses and pilots felt they weren't sharing in the gains.

"Pilots are very sensitive to executive compensation," said Mr Thomas Kochan, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management who follows the airline industry. "They consider themselves equal to executives in competence, intelligence, leadership, all those dimensions."

Pilots at some of the large legacy carriers, like Delta and United, have pressed for and received significant wage increases in recent years.

Spirit pilots, who tend to make less than their counterparts at the major carriers, went on strike for several days in 2010, citing low wages after several years of negotiations had failed to produce a contract.

More than 200 pilots for the cargo carrier ABX Air, whose customers include DHL and Amazon, briefly went on strike last fall before a federal judge ordered them back to work.

The pilots complained of chronic understaffing that was forcing them to work emergency shifts without adequate time off. Pilots at ABX and four other carriers who serve DHL continue to press for higher wages and benefits and better working conditions.

The Spirit lawsuit, which was filed in Florida's southern district, estimated that the airline had lost about US$8.5 million (S$12 million) in revenue because of its conflict with the association. The airline said that on Sunday (May 7) alone, it had to cancel 81 flights, representing 17 per cent of those it had scheduled that day.

The airline and the pilots' union have been negotiating over specific sections of a collective bargaining agreement since the middle of March, the lawsuit said, but have yet to agree on pilot compensation rates. The association did not respond to an e-mail attempting to confirm that negotiations were in progress.

Spirit Airlines, which is based in Miramar, Florida, is one of several budget airlines in recent years that have taken a lead on charging for service elements that customers expected to be included in the face price of a ticket. For example, in 2010, the airline announced that it would begin charging passengers as much as US$45 for carry-on bags.

Singaporean man and woman killed in NZ car crash

A man and a woman from Singapore were killed in a car crash in New Zealand on Thursday.

Ms Rena Ong and Mr Chen Zhihao were employees at technology firm Crestron Singapore, the company confirmed with The Straits Times.

"We are devastated and our thoughts are with the families, friends and colleagues of Zhihao and Rena," Mr Stuart Craig, chief executive of Crestron Asia-Pacific, told The Straits Times. "They made a wonderful contribution to our company and were well-loved and respected throughout the audiovisual industry. Crestron is offering support to the families and to our Singapore team," he said.


 New Zealand

Country in Oceania

New Zealand is a country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean consisting of 2 main islands, both marked by volcanoes and glaciation. Capital Wellington, on the North Island, is home to Te Papa Tongarewa, the expansive national museum. Wellington’s dramatic Mt. Victoria, along with the South Island’s Fiordland and Southern Lakes, stood in for mythical Middle Earth in Peter Jackson’s "Lord of the Rings" films.

Capital: Wellington

Population: 4.596 million (2015) World Bank

Currency: New Zealand dollar

Continent: Oceania

   
The two Singaporeans were driving a rented camper van when their vehicle hit an oncoming car, New Zealand news site Stuff.co.nz reported yesterday. The crash occurred on State Highway 1, south of Dunsandel, at 1.12pm on Thursday, New Zealand police said. The township is about 40km south of Christchurch, in the country's South Island.


The pair, who were reportedly in their mid-20s to early 30s, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Senior Sergeant Pete Stills told New Zealand media: "The camper van rounded the bend and, for some unknown reason, crossed the centre line and was entirely on the wrong side of the road when it struck the north-bound vehicle." A third person was taken to hospital with an arm injury.

South Island

Island in New Zealand

The South Island of New Zealand is renowned for its mountains, lakes and glaciers. The Southern Alps, home to 3,724m-high Aoraki Mt. Cook, run along the entire length of the island. In the southwest is Fiordland National Park, with steep-sided Milford Sound. In the north is Abel Tasman National Park, known for its trails and ocean kayaking. Queenstown is famed for adventure sports like bungee jumping and skiing.

Area: 58,384 mi²

Population: 1.038 million (Jun 2011)

ISO 3166-2:NZ: NZ-S

Length: 840 km (522 mi)

Largest city: Christchurch

A spokesman for Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The Straits Times yesterday that it is rendering consular assistance to the families of the two Singaporeans. "Our thoughts and condolences are with the families," she said.

Lydia Lam

Big-spending Aussie Budget is supported by hefty taxes

Treasurer Scott Morrison touts the Budget as an "honest" one that "does not pretend to do things with money we do not have".PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

$78b set aside for infrastructure, while govt clamps down on foreign workers and overseas property investors

Jonathan Pearlman For The Straits Times In Sydney

Australia's ruling conservative Coalition last night unveiled a surprisingly big-spending and big-tax Budget, including a A$75 billion (S$77.8 billion) splurge on roads, airports and rail that could provide a welcome jobs and wages boost.

Despite presenting a bright economic outlook, the federal government's annual Budget included grim news for foreign workers, foreign property investors and the country's largest banks.

The government plans to clamp down on the hiring of foreign workers and to impose hefty taxes and charges on overseas investors in property that will collect an extra A$600 million over the next four years.


Among other losers were the nation's largest banks, which will face a new tax that will collect A$6.2 billion over the next four years.

Australia

Country in Oceania

Australia is a country and continent surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans. Its major cities – Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide – are coastal. Its capital, Canberra, is inland. The country is known for its Sydney Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef, a vast interior desert wilderness called the Outback, and unique animal species like kangaroos and duck-billed platypuses.

Capital: Canberra

Dialing code: +61

Population: 23.78 million (2015) World Bank

Currency: Australian dollar

Bank executives will also risk pay cuts and job losses if found guilty of misconduct - a measure that follows scandals, including financial advisers receiving kickbacks.

Treasurer Scott Morrison revealed extra funding for police and intelligence agencies as well as an increase in tuition fees for university students.

SPENDING TO DRIVE GROWTH

The Treasurer has jettisoned decades of conservative fiscal orthodoxy around deficits and, particularly, debt. It's a future where the government will drive economic growth, austerity has been replaced by spending, and taxpayers and banks will foot the bill.

MR IAN VERRENDER, business commentator on the ABC News website.


In an upbeat assessment, the government said the economy would grow in 2017-18 at a rate of 2.75 per cent, increasing to 3 per cent the following year. Growth this year is expected to be 2.5 per cent.

"This is an honest Budget," Mr Morrison told Parliament.

"It is honest about our challenges and opportunities. It does not pretend to do things with money we do not have."

Australia has had a longer run of continuous growth - about 26 years - than any other country. But the economy has been sluggish in recent years, following the end of a decade-long, China-fuelled mining boom.

The government expects a slightly larger-than-expected deficit of A$29.4 billion in 2017-18 but plans to finally deliver a surplus of A$7.4 billion in 2020-21.The surplus, if achieved, would end 12 years of deficits.

Analysts said the Budget was largely designed to try to restore the political fortunes of the Coalition, which is trailing the Labor opposition in opinion polls.

Key Budget expenditures
Defence

Spending will be A$34.6 billion (S$35.8 billion) in 2017-18, with plans to lift spending to 2 per cent of gross domestic product by 2020-21.

Foreign Aid 

Spending to be frozen for two years from 2018, resulting in an effective A$303 million cut.

Police and Intelligence

Australian Federal Police to receive an extra A$321 million over four years for counter-terrorism and other efforts, plus around A$150 million extra for the nation's domestic and foreign spy agencies.

Banks

Australia's five largest banks face a new tax on their borrowings from July, due to raise A$6.2 billion over four years. Health An extra healthcare tax from 2019 will raise funding for a national scheme to support people with disabilities.

Education

Schools to receive an extra A$18.6 billion over 10 years, but university students to face higher fees ranging from A$2,000 to A$3,600 for a four-year course.

Transport and Infrastructure

A$75 billion to be spent over 10 years on rail, roads and runways, including A$5.3 billion for a second airport in Sydney. 

Jonathan Pearlman

Numerous commentators described it as a "Labor Budget" because it had shown a surprising willingness to increase taxes and to boost spending on areas such as schools and support for the disabled.

The spending programme also included A$5.3 billion for a second airport in Sydney and funding for an inland freight rail network. The inland rail line, to receive A$8.4 billion in funding, will run from Melbourne to Brisbane, spanning 1,700km, and will help farmers to move produce and exports.

"The Treasurer has jettisoned decades of conservative fiscal orthodoxy around deficits and, particularly, debt," said business commentator Ian Verrender on the ABC News website.

"It's a future where the government will drive economic growth, austerity has been replaced by spending, and taxpayers and banks will foot the bill."

Following a move last month to tighten visas and hike fees for temporary foreign workers, the government has imposed a tax of up to A$5,000 per worker on employers who hire foreigners.

There will also be additional taxes on foreigners who own properties. Foreigners will have to pay taxes on the capital gain on their homes - beginning from mid-2019 - though Australian nationals will continue to be spared the tax .

Foreign property owners will also face fines of at least A$5,000 if they fail to either occupy or lease the home for more than six months a year.

The crackdown on foreign property owners comes amid growing concerns about housing affordability following a surge in property prices.

"This measure is intended to encourage foreign owners of residential property to make their properties available for rent where they are not used as a residence and so increase the number of dwellings available for Australians to live in," Mr Morrison said.


Commentators predicted that measures such as the banks' tax and extra spending on retirees and infrastructure were likely to prove popular. But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull may struggle to win the support of right-leaning members of his own party, who favour spending cuts and debt reduction.

Why is the South China Sea unquiet?

BEIJING • Territorial disputes in the South China Sea among several countries have been ongoing for decades but tension has been increasing in recent years.

Much of it is caused by what has been perceived as China's growing assertiveness in its claims, beginning in 2009 with its presentation of a map to the United Nations. The map showed its claim over almost the entire South China Sea represented by a U-shaped, nine-dash line.

This put China in clear contention with all the other claimants - Taiwan and Asean member states Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.


But part of the tension is also caused by the United States entering the fray as it rebalanced to the Asia-Pacific in 2011, paying more attention to this region.


Here's a look at why the South China Sea has become unquiet.

WHO IS CLAIMING WHAT IN THE WATERS?

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea in accordance with an official map with a U-shaped, nine-dash line, drawn in 1947 by the then Kuomintang government of the country. China bases its claims on historical naval expeditions dating back to the 15th century.


 China has started construction work on several land features in the Spratly Island

Filipino fishermen in the waters near Scarborough Shoal with Chinese vessels in the background in the disputed South China Sea earlier this month. PHOTOS: REUTERS

It is not clear if China claims just the rocks, reefs and isles and the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone they might generate or the entire area within the U-shaped line. An exclusive economic zone is an expanse of water and seabed within 200-nautical miles of a country's coastline to which the country can claim exclusive rights for fishing and other economic activities.

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometres. Wikipedia

Area: 1.351 million mi²

Islands: Scarborough Shoal, Woody Island, Taiping Island, More

Bridges: Nan'ao Bridge

Taiwan's claims are similar to those of China as they are based on the same 1947 official map. However, its claims are to the land features within the U-shaped line, including the Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, Pratas Islands, Macclesfield Bank and Scarborough Shoal.

Brunei and Malaysia claim parts of the Spratly Islands that overlap with claims by China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Vietnam lays claims to all of the Paracel and Spratly isles while the Philippines claims almost all of the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.

Most claimants occupy some of the reefs and islands that they lay claim to, with some having military garrisons on these land features.

While Indonesia does not have any claims to these disputed areas, China's nine-dash line claim overlaps with the exclusive economic zone of Indonesia's Natunas Islands.

China has started construction work on several land features in the Spratly Islands, as seen in satellite images of Fiery Cross Reef and Mischief Reef released by the CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Inititative.

China has started construction work on several land features in the Spratly Islands, as seen in satellite images of Fiery Cross Reef and Mischief Reef released by the CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Inititative.

WHY ARE THESE COUNTRIES FIGHTING OVER UNINHABITABLE BARREN ROCKS, REEFS AND ISLES?

The waters around these islands are rich with fish and shellfish and afford livelihoods to the fishermen of these countries. Laying claim to these islands would be laying claim to the fishing grounds around these islands.



There are also potential oil and gas deposits beneath the seabed of the disputed areas, although such resources in the Spratly and Paracel islands are not large, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). An EIA analysis showed that most fields containing oil and natural gas are in uncontested parts of the South China Sea, close to the shorelines of coastal countries.

According to the EIA, the South China Sea in total has about 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas of proved or probable reserves. These are similar to the amount of proved reserves in Mexico.

HOW ELSE IS THE SOUTH CHINA SEA IMPORTANT?

The South China Sea is one of the world's busiest waterways through which one-third or more than US$5 trillion (S$7 trillion) of the world's trade passes annually. Crucially, much of the oil supplies of the energy-starved North-east Asian countries of China, Japan and South Korea also go through this waterway. For these countries, keeping the sea lanes open and free of potential blockades is important.

China is particularly worried about being blockaded as there are American allies to its east - Japan, South Korea and the Philippines - and the US navy has long been dominant in the waters of the region.

WHY HAS TENSION ESCALATED IN RECENT YEARS?

The South China Sea territorial disputes started coming to the fore in 2009 when Malaysia and Vietnam filed a joint submission to the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to extend their continental shelves beyond the standard 200 nautical miles from their coastlines.

China objected to this, saying it has "seriously infringed" on China's sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea. It sent a diplomatic note to the UN that included the map with the U-shaped line claim to almost the entire sea, sparking protests from the other claimants.

The following year at the Asean Regional Forum, a regional security meeting, then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton weighed in on the disputes, to which the Chinese responded sharply, raising tension another notch.

In 2011, the US announced a rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and this was accompanied by a strengthening of US alliances and partnerships in the region.

The growing US focus on the region led to a sense among the Chinese of collusion between the US and other regional claimant states over the disputes and this added to the unease in the region.

In 2012, following a stand-off between the Chinese and Filipinos in the Scarborough Shoal over a fishing dispute, the Chinese blockaded the area, preventing Filipino fishermen from fishing there. Manila then brought a suit against China's claims in the South China Sea, in 2013.

Through the years, China staked its claims in the South China Sea in various ways. Its fishermen ventured far from the Chinese shores protected by accompanying coast guard vessels. It imposed a unilateral summer ban on fishing in disputed waters and detained or chased away foreign fishermen from these waters during the ban period.

China started building artificial islands on several land features it occupies and built airstrips and military facilities on them, leading to accusations that it was militarising the South China Sea.

Matters came to a head in July last year when the international arbitral tribunal ruling on the case brought by Manila ruled that China's claims were invalid. China rejected the ruling. But things have calmed down somewhat as the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte has put aside the ruling in favour of economic cooperation with China.

HOW HAVE COUNTRIES IN THE REGION SOUGHT TO MANAGE THE DISPUTES?

While not all 10 Asean nations are involved in the territorial disputes, the grouping has sought to be united on the issue. It has tried to manage the disputes to prevent them from escalating and destabilising the region, by negotiating an agreement with China. The result was the 2002 Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

Among other things, this non-binding agreement stated that the parties concerned should resolve their disputes by peaceful means through direct negotiation in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It stated that signatories should exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that could escalate the disputes.

The agreement also provided for the eventual adoption of a legally binding code of conduct (COC) to manage the disputes.

The Declaration has not been fully observed by the claimant states and talks on the code have been sporadic.

However, the case brought by the Philippines gave impetus to talks on the COC and after the tribunal ruling, the Chinese agreed to a mid-year deadline this year for the completion of a framework for the code.

A draft of the framework was completed early this year.

Singapore is not a claimant state and does not take sides in the South China Sea disputes. But as a small, open, trade-dependent nation, it wants to uphold values such as freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, and a rules-based regional and international order that protects the rights and privileges of all states and respects legal and diplomatic processes in the resolution of disputes.

WHY HAVE COUNTRIES FROM OUTSIDE THE REGION ENTERED THE FRAY?

China's assertiveness has led claimant states like Vietnam and the Philippines, and other countries in the region, to seek closer security ties to outside powers such as Japan and the United States.

Vietnam and the Philippines have bought coast guard vessels from Japan while the Philippines has strengthened its security pact with the US.

Vietnam has also begun naval exercises with the US.

Japan, for its part, wants to ensure that the sea lanes of the South China Sea remain open, as much of its trade and oil supply go through them. It worries about China's militarisation of the South China Sea and its potential to control the waterway.

The US has maintained it does not take a position in the disputes but that it has a national interest in the freedom of navigation and overflight, open access to Asia's maritime commons and respect for international law in the South China Sea.

It has conducted several freedom of navigation operations close to islands claimed by the Chinese to challenge what it sees as China's excessive maritime claims.

It has also sought to strengthen its security alliances and partnerships in the region.

There are analysts who see the US actions as a pushback against Chinese assertiveness, which Washington sees as a challenge to its dominance in the Asia-Pacific region.

Indeed, China's assertiveness goes beyond its territorial claims. It also seeks to dominate the South China Sea militarily in the long term, analysts have said.

HOW CAN ASEAN MANAGE CHINA'S GROWING REACH?

While Asean has welcomed the US pivot to the region as a hedge against China, it cannot rely fully on the US. As rivals, the US and China will want to find ways to accommodate each other, possibly at the expense of the region's interests.

What Asean can do is to build Asean unity and cohesion, multilateralism and open regionalism.

Unity and cohesion will give the grouping strength in numbers to stand firm on issues like the South China Sea disputes.

It can dilute China's influence in the region by strengthening its multilateral institutions like the East Asian Summit and the Asean Regional Forum, which involve countries and groupings with interests in the region, such as the US, India and the European Union.

Likewise, its open regionalism which gives countries outside the region a stake in it can help to counter China' s influence.