Spirit Airlines begins 'wind-down', cancels all flights

The troubled carrier, which was set to emerge from its second bankruptcy in a year, announced it was ceasing operations after a potential White House bailout fell through.

Spirit Airlines' parent company, Spirit Aviation Holdings, said in an early Saturday press release that it has "started an orderly wind-down of operations, effective immediately."

"All Spirit flights have been cancelled, and Spirit Guests should not go to the airport," said the company, which had put pressure on larger airlines with its no-frills offering launched over 30 years ago.

The company's webpage displayed a message telling guests that "customer service is no longer available." The airline said it will process refunds for purchased flights.

Jet fuel prices have more than doubled since the conflict with Iran began in February, prompting major US airlines to lower their profit forecasts, trim back on capacity growth plans or both.

Spirit's President and CEO Dave Davis said the company in March "reached an agreement with our bondholders on a restructuring plan that would have allowed us to emerge as a go-forward business."

"However, the sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices in recent weeks ultimately has left us with no alternative but to pursue an orderly wind-down of the Company," Davis said in the press release.

"Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure. This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted."
'Final proposal'
Trump said on Friday that Spirit was given a "final proposal" for a bailout package.

"I guess we're looking at it. If we can do it, we'd do it, but only if it's a good deal," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Trump administration officials have also criticized predecessor Joe Biden's administration, which successfully blocked a proposed $3.8 billion takeover of the carrier by JetBlue, arguing it would harm consumers.

In its statement, Spirit said there were "extensive and comprehensive efforts to restructure the business," but the lack of additional funding meant that Spirit "had no choice but to begin this wind-down."

Jan Brueckner, emeritus economics professor at the University of California, Irvine, told AFP last week that the fuel price surge was "the straw that broke the camel's back."

American Airlines said early Saturday that it was in touch with US authorities on "steps we are taking to help mitigate the impact on the communities Spirit serves and the traveling public."

American said it was offering "rescue fares" on Spirit's routes.

United Airlines also said it was providing "price-capped, one-way tickets from most cities where Spirit flew."

Spirit Airlines, which began offering flights in 1992, was known for its yellow-colored planes and employed just over 11,000 people as of 2024.