Google Wanted Spirit Airlines Data. Flight Attendants Found a Way to Opt Out
The union representing flight attendants for the defunct airline struck a deal with Google to scrub sensitive employee records from a $10 million data sale.
Google has sought to acquire Spirit Airlines' data files as part of the airline's liquidation process. This sale, valued at $10 million, involved 1.99 billion emails, 664 million Microsoft Teams messages, and data from employee training and travel records. The Association for Flight Attendants (AFA), representing Spirit's 55,000 workers, fought to protect the flight attendants' privacy rights.
The revised agreement requires Spirit to hire Tonic AI, a data de-identification firm, to remove identifiable information and prevent data re-linking. The deal will exclude sensitive records like medical information and safety documents. Flight attendants' union president Sara Nelson highlighted the importance of worker data protection, anticipating similar demands from other airlines.
The settlement is seen as a positive step for employee privacy rights, though some experts argue that banning data sales altogether would be an even more robust solution.
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