Spirit Airlines' Brawl Leads to Ultimatum From Florida Senator

WASHINGTON, DC —Fueled by the Spirit Airlines brawl at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson put airlines on notice that passengers are not "self-loading cargo" and that lawmakers will be forced to act if the industry cannot police itself.

"What happened at Fort Lauderdale was unacceptable and deeply unfair to the affected passengers, the overwhelmed airline employees, and local law enforcement. It was unfair," Nelson said on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Aventura Patch.

Angry airline passengers became unruly and began brawling on Monday night at the Fort Lauderdale airport after Spirit canceled a number of flights. The airline, whose motto is "home of the bare fare" blamed the cancellations on a labor action by pilots. Police arrested three passengers.

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The raucous incident played out on cellphone video that has gone viral. Broward Sheriff's deputies said the atmosphere resembled the start of a riot.

"Let's don't forget also in dealing with the Fort Lauderdale airport the memories are still fresh of the shooting that took place in January at baggage claim," Nelson asserted. "Now, what happened just last night in Fort Lauderdale is just another example of passengers becoming sick and tired of what they perceive as mistreatment by airlines, be it that circumstance in Chicago, the forcible removal of a passenger or be it failing airline IT systems and airline fees run amok."

Watch below as U.S. Senator Bill Nelson puts airlines on notice:

Video and image courtesy of U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson