PHILADELPHIA _ A dispute Thursday between airplane cleaners over a light being turned off in a break room at Philadelphia International Airport ended with one of them stabbed to death and another in custody, police said.
Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives said the incident involved three Worldwide Flight Services employees, who work under contract to Frontier Airlines.
He said the dispute started about 11:30 a.m., when one man turned off a light in an employee break room in Terminal E and a co-worker began arguing with him. The break room was not accessible to passengers. According to Walker, the argument turned into a scuffle, and when it subsided, a third man, age 35, pulled out a knife and slashed one of the other men in the stomach. Walker said some workers at the airport have access to knives or other sharp objects as part of their job responsibilities, which can include opening boxes.
The 28-year-old stabbing victim was taken to Penn Presbyterian Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:51 a.m., Walker said.
Authorities at the airport took the 35-year-old suspect into custody while he was waiting at the airport for a ride, Walker said. The man was being questioned Thursday afternoon at the Homicide Unit.
No names had been released as of 4 p.m. Thursday.
The stabbing was "an unfortunate situation where people allowed their anger and aggression to get the best of them," but caused no major disruptions to airport service, Walker said.
Officials at Worldwide Flight Services' North American executive offices in New York City did not immediately respond to a call and an email seeking comment.
Richard Oliver III, a spokesman for Frontier, issued a statement saying: "We've been made aware of an incident involving employees of Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) at Philadelphia International Airport. The Frontier Airlines family is saddened to learn about this event and our hearts go out to those touched by the tragedy. We have reached out to WFS to assist them in any way possible as they deal with this incident."
