A Spirit Airlines plane is parked at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on April 23, 2026 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Marco Bello | Reuters
Spirit Airlines has closed.
Early Saturday, the airline suspended operations after failing to reach an agreement with bondholders for an 11th-hour bailout from the Trump administration.
This sealed the fate of America’s iconic low-cost airline, known for its bright yellow planes, low fares, and no-frills service and prices, even as it pioneered low-cost air travel in the United States and made airline tickets more affordable for millions of people.
When I opened the Spirit app, a message read: “We regret to inform you that all Spirit Airlines flights have been cancelled, effective immediately.”
The closure of Spirit, which had a chance at survival after filing for bankruptcy for the second time since November 2024, marks the end of South Florida Airlines’ years-long struggle with a number of problems, including a failed merger, changing consumer preferences, increasing competition and, most recently, rising jet fuel costs.
Spirit said 17,000 direct and indirect employees lost their jobs.
Time is running out. Spirit’s cash “won’t last very long,” Marshall Huebner, the company’s lawyer, said in New York bankruptcy court on April 23.
The company announced that it will automatically refund tickets purchased through Spirit to credit or debit cards. (Learn more about next steps here.)
end of an era
For years, Spirit kept its competitors wary of its low fares and was profitable until rapid growth, rising costs and other challenges caught up with it after the pandemic. Experts said the closures could lead to higher fares in some markets, although the airline had significantly reduced service in recent months. Other airlines may also add flights at Spirit’s airports.
Spirit flight NK1833, a 2-hour, 39-minute flight from Detroit to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, was the last flight to land just after midnight local time, according to data from the company and Flightradar24. More than 50,000 people flew in the past day, Spirit said.
“For more than 30 years, Spirit Airlines has played a pioneering role in connecting people while making travel more accessible and promoting affordability across the industry,” Spirit CEO Dave Davis said in Spirit’s closure announcement.
Davis thanked the Trump administration and “especially” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for their efforts to save the airlines.
Earlier, officials said the low-cost carrier was preparing to shut down after failing to reach an agreement on a lifeline. The people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the discussion.
The company had expected to emerge from bankruptcy protection in the middle of this year before fuel prices soared, but it still faced many of the same problems. Since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, the cost of jet fuel has doubled in some regions.
“The sudden and sustained increase in fuel prices in recent weeks has ultimately left us with no choice but to pursue an orderly winddown,” Davis said.
“We needed hundreds of millions of dollars in additional liquidity to sustain our operations, and Spirit simply didn’t have it and was unable to raise it. This is very disappointing and not the outcome any of us had hoped for,” he said.
Frontier Airlines and other low-cost airlines, including Avero, last month sought a $2.5 billion federal bailout to address soaring fuel prices after the Trump administration entered negotiations to bail out Spirit.
Spirit also said it hopes to work with the vendor long-term.
“We are committed to working with our vendors through the wind-down process and will be contacting them in the coming days to discuss next steps. Any outstanding claims will need to be addressed through the bankruptcy process,” Spirit said. It added that vendors will be contacted directly by the court.
“It’s a difficult deal.”
The Trump administration last month proposed a $500 million loan that could give the government up to a 90% stake in the Florida-based airline. But talks this week with bondholders on a government bailout failed to result in an agreement.
Some opposition to the deal has emerged, including from Republican Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who told Reuters in an interview last month: “What we don’t want to do is put good money after bad money. There’s a lot of money being put into Spirit, and they haven’t found a way to make it profitable.” “So will we forestall the inevitable and own it?”
President Donald Trump said early Friday that his administration had extended the “final” relief proposal, although bondholders and the government were ultimately unable to agree on terms.
“I can say we’re pushing for a tough deal, but it’s either we do it or we don’t do it,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “Other lenders seem to be blocking it. They think it will deprioritize them.”
“We come first,” President Trump said.
Other airlines said they also plan to support Spirit customers and crew operations.
southwest airlines The airline announced it will offer discounted tickets at airports on routes that overlap with Spirit. Flights up to 500 miles will cost $200, flights up to 1,000 miles will cost $300 and flights over 1,000 miles will cost $400, the airline said.
united airlines The company also said it is limiting fares to $299 for Spirit customers, but most fares are $199, and has given instructions to stranded crew members. american airlines, jet blue airlines and frontier airlines We also planned rescue fares for spirit travelers.
Spirit flies about 1.7 million passengers on U.S. domestic routes and had a 3.9% market share in the U.S. as of February, according to aviation data firm Cirium. This share was down from last year’s 5.1% market share as airlines suspended flights to cut costs.
