Spirit Airlines planes are parked at Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, April 23, 2026.
Marco Bello | Reuters
Spirit Airlines has closed its doors.
Before dawn on Saturday, the carrier ceased operations after failing to reach an agreement with bondholders on an eleventh-hour haul. rescue plan of the Trump administration.
That sealed the fate of the iconic American budget airline, known for its bright yellow planes, cheap fares, no-frills service and charging for everything else that had become a problem. punch line although it was the first to offer discounted air travel in the United States and made flying more affordable for millions of people.
“We regret to inform you that all Spirit Airlines flights have been canceled, effective immediately,” read a message when opening the Spirit app.
Seizing a chance of survival in his second Bankrupt since November 2024, Spirit’s closure marks the end of the South Florida airline’s years-long struggle with a host of problems: a failed merger, changing consumer tastes, increased competition and soaring costs — most recently for jet fuel.
Spirit said 17,000 direct and indirect employees lost their jobs.
Time was running out. The airline’s lawyer, Marshall Huebner, said in a New York bankruptcy court on April 23, that Spirit’s money “won’t last very long.”
The airline said it will automatically refund flights purchased through Spirit with a credit or debit card. (Learn more about next steps here.)
End of an eraFor years, Spirit kept competitors on their toes with its low fares and was profitable until rapid growth, rising costs and other challenges caught up with it after the pandemic. Experts said its closure could lead to higher fares in some markets, even though the carrier had significantly reduced its service in recent months. Other airlines will likely add more flights at airports served by Spirit.
Spirit’s NK1833, a two-hour, 39-minute flight from Detroit to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, was the last to land shortly after midnight local time, according to the company and data from Flightradar24. It carried more than 50,000 people in the past day, Spirit said.
“For more than 30 years, Spirit Airlines has played a pioneering role in making travel more accessible and bringing people together while driving affordability across the industry,” said Dave Davis, Spirit’s chief executive officer, in announcing Spirit’s closure.
Davis thanked the Trump administration and, “in particular,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for their efforts to save the airline.
Earlier, people familiar with the matter said the budget airline was preparing to close its doors after failing to reach a deal for a lifeline. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the discussions.
The airline expected to emerge from bankruptcy protection mid-year before fuel prices rose, but it still faced many of the same problems. Jet fuel prices have doubled in some regions since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
Davis said “the sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices over the past few weeks ultimately left us with no choice but to pursue an orderly liquidation of the company.”
“Maintaining the business required hundreds of millions of dollars in additional liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not afford. This is extremely disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted,” he said.
After the Trump administration began negotiations for a Spirit bailout, other low-cost airlines, including Frontier Airlines and Avelo, last month requested $2.5 billion in federal aid to deal with rising fuel prices.
Spirit also said it hopes to work with its sellers for the long term.
“We are committed to working with our suppliers throughout the liquidation process and will contact you in the coming days to discuss next steps. Any outstanding claims will need to be addressed through the bankruptcy process,” Spirit said. He added that sellers will receive direct communication from the courts.
“A difficult affair”Last month, the Trump administration proposed a $500 million loan that could have given the government up to 90% ownership of the Florida-based airline. But negotiations with bondholders for a government bailout this week failed to produce a deal.
Some opposition to the deal has emerged, including from Republicans and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who said Reuters last month: “What we don’t want to do is invest good money after bad, and there’s been a lot of money thrown at Spirit, and they haven’t found a path to profitability,” Duffy said in an interview with Reuters. “So, should we just anticipate the inevitable and then recognize it?”
President Donald Trump said earlier Friday that his administration had extended a “final” bailout proposal, although bondholders and the government ultimately could not agree on the terms.
“I would say we’re making a tough deal, but it’s one of those things we’ll do it, or we won’t,” Trump told reporters Friday. “It looks like the other lenders are blocking it. They think they will be relegated to priority.”
“We are first,” Trump said.
Other airlines said they planned to help Spirit customers and crews.
Learn more about Spirit Airlines’ recent challengesSouthwest Airlines said it would offer discounted flights at airports on overlapping routes with Spirit. Flights up to 500 miles will cost $200, up to 1,000 miles will cost $300 and above 1,000 miles will cost $400, the carrier said.
United Airlines said it was also a ceiling prices for Spirit customers at $299, but that most fares were priced at $199 and that it provided instructions to stranded crew members. American airlines, JetBlue Airways And Border Airlines also provided rescue fares for Spirit travelers.
Spirit carried approximately 1.7 million U.S. domestic passengers, with a 3.9% U.S. market share, in February, according to aviation data firm Cirium. That’s down from last year’s market share of 5.1% as the airline cut flights to cut costs.
