Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links below. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
Two Spirit Airlines employees have been charged with theft after allegedly removing a passenger’s Louis Vuitton wristlet purse from the gate area at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). The case has triggered broader scrutiny of missing belongings at the carrier’s airport operations.
According to arrest reports from the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), the incident began on October 19th when a traveler departing on a Spirit flight to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) accidentally left a Louis Vuitton wristlet (valued at $505) on the check-in counter at Gate F6. Surveillance cameras recorded another employee placing the item in a drawer for safekeeping.
Three days later, on October 22nd, airport cameras captured Olukunle Idowu removing the wristlet from the drawer around 5:37 AM, checking its contents, and conducting a full inventory at the nearby Gate F4 counter. Minutes later, Hyacinth Linton joined him on camera. The reports say Idowu placed items from the wristlet into a plastic bag before Linton allegedly slipped it into her backpack. The two then walked away with Idowu throwing the plastic bag in a trash can.
Olukunle Idowu, a 49-year-old Spirit supervisor from Tamarac, has pleaded not guilty to petit theft of property valued between $101 and $749. His co-defendant, 56-year-old Hyacinth Linton, also of Tamarac, has yet to enter a plea around the same charge. Linton was arrested on November 13th and Idowu was taken into custody on November 21st.
A Second Incident Emerges Involving the Same Supervisor
This case resurfaced when a Spirit passenger from North Miami Beach came forward with a separate complaint (this time involving a $300 Technics earbud case left on a flight from New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA).
The traveler said a Spirit employee texted him on October 29th confirming that his charging case had been located at Gate F8. The employee later claimed he handed the item over to baggage services, but Spirit representatives repeatedly told the traveler the case never arrived there. Eventually, the employee stated he gave the item to his manager. The manager he identified only as “Olu.” That manager was in fact Idowu, the same supervisor arrested in the Louis Vuitton wristlet case.
As the passenger continued pressing for answers, Spirit customer service emailed him on November 25th (four days after Idowu’s arrest) stating they were still awaiting feedback from the Fort Lauderdale management team and were attempting to contact “Olu.” Spirit later said the customer-care agent who sent that email was unaware of the arrest at the time. The passenger ultimately filed a stolen property report with authorities and learned of Idowu’s arrest through the BSO. According to the Miami Herald, the earbud charging case has not been recovered, but Spirit agreed on Tuesday to reimburse him for the $300 loss.
Spirit Airlines Responds
Spirit Airlines stated it is cooperating with law enforcement and took immediate action once the allegations surfaced. The airline emphasized that the employee who contacted the passenger in late November did not yet know the supervisor had been arrested.
Anthony’s Take: With the number of cameras in an airport, it was foolish for this theft to have been attempted. You have to wonder what else has been taken from passengers.
(Image Credits: Spirit Airlines and BSO.)
User Generated Content Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
