Spirit Airlines to lay off 999 workers in Las Vegas

Spirit Airlines will lay off 999 Las Vegas-area workers as part of its Saturday shutdown, according to an official notice filed with state and local officials.

The official notification, delivered by email to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation in Carson City and to Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley’s office, apologized for not meeting a statutorily imposed deadline of notification at least 60 days in advance of a closure.

Florida-based Spirit abruptly stopped operations just after midnight Saturday, abandoning its ticket counters at Harry Reid International Airport and stranding thousands of travelers it had delivered to Las Vegas earlier and leaving those with reservations to fly out to fend for themselves.

The abrupt shutdown left travelers scrambling to rebook flights on other airlines.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) letter was the first acknowledgment by the airline of how many Las Vegas-based Spirit employees are now out of work.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.