Does this reporter know what they're talking about? I always thought compressors were an essential part of a jet engine (compression heats the air, then fuel is sprayed in which auto-ignites, expanding, and turning the turbine blades). Not just because compressed air takes up less space.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame_holder
The ignition at engine start is done with spark plugs.
The purpose of the compressor is to provide dense enough air to support combustion, and the pressure is needed to prevent the exhaust gases from blowing out the front of the engine.
Out of curiosity: has that ever happened and how does such an event look like?
A compressor stall can be severe enough to damage or even destroy the engine, though I don't think there's (usually, at least?) actually exhaust blowing out the front.
There's a supersonic variant called an "unstart" which is very dangerous.
They're very much like a fuse in an electrical circuit. In fact, they're called "fuse pins".
The concept is not without controversy:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/06/18/b...
Otherwise, as parent said, the flame persists following engine start, and so the "spark plugs" (igniters) are not kept active.