Spirit Airlines, an impish upstart that shook the industry with its irreverent ads and deep discount fares, announced Saturday that it has gone out of business after 34 years.
The ultralow cost airline that once operated hundreds of daily flights on its bright yellow planes and employed about 17,000 people said it had “started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately.”
The airline said on its website that all flights had been cancelled and customer service is no longer available.
“We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come,” the announcement said.
The company advised customers that they could expect refunds but there would be no help in booking travel on other airlines.
The Trump administration had considered a government bailout for the cash-strapped business to keep it from going under, but a deal was not reached.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that travellers booked on Spirit flights could access special prices on a group of other airlines for a limited time, and said other carriers would help Spirit pilots and flight attendants return to their home cities. In a statement, he said travellers could check with their credit card company or travel insurance policy about refunds.
Trump had floated the idea of a bailout last week after the airline found itself in bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in less than two years with jet fuel prices soaring because of the Iran war.
As late as Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump had said that “we’re looking at it” and had given the budget carrier a “final proposal” for a taxpayer-funded takeover.
Spirit has struggled financially since the COVID-19 pandemic, weighed down by rising operating costs and growing debt. By the time it filed for Chapter 11 protection in November 2024, Spirit had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020.
The budget carrier sought bankruptcy protection again in August 2025, when it reported having $8.1 billion in debts and $8.6 billion in assets, according to court filings.
Budget-conscious and leisure travellers would likely feel Spirit’s absence the most, especially in places where the airline has a big footprint such as Las Vegas and the Florida cities of Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
The carrier flew about 1.7 million domestic passengers in February, roughly half a million fewer than during the same month a year earlier, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Spirit also has sharply reduced its capacity, with about half as many seats available this month than in May 2024.
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