NEED TO KNOW
Spirit Airlines confirmed the company is shutting down in a social media post on Saturday, May 2
The Dania Beach, Fla.-based airline company previously filed for bankruptcy twice, in November 2024 and August 2025
In August 2025, a quarterly earnings report expressed “substantial doubt as to the company’s ability to continue as a going concern within 12 months”
It’s the end of an era for Spirit Airlines.
On Saturday, May 2, the airline company announced that it was ceasing all operations in a statement posted on Instagram. The announcement comes after the budget airline was in talks to receive a $500 million government bailout that failed to materialize, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“It is with great disappointment that Spirit Airlines has started winding down its global operations, effective immediately,” the airline said in a statement. “All flights have been cancelled, and customer service is no longer available.
“While we are not able to help rebook your flight on another airline, we will automatically process refunds for any flights purchased through Spirit with a credit or debit card to the original form of payment,” the statement continued.
Spirit Airlines’ South Florida headquarters
Credit: Alamy
“We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry for the last 33 years and had hoped to serve our Guests for many years to come,” the airline concluded.
Spirit Airlines had been experiencing financial difficulties for years before its ultimate shutdown.
The budget airline was looking to break a deal with the Trump administration to provide them with a cash infusion to survive, but failed to get bondholders and government support to secure the funding, per the WSJ.
Trump said in an April 21 CNBC interview, “Spirit’s in trouble, and I’d love somebody to buy Spirit. It’s 14,000 jobs, and maybe the federal government should help that one out.”
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The airline’s announcement that operations are ceasing comes months after Spirit released a quarterly earnings report that claimed there was “weak demand” for travel amid discouraging performance.
“The company has continued to be affected by adverse market conditions, including elevated domestic capacity and continued weak demand for domestic leisure travel,” the report from August 2025 said.
A Spirit Airlines aircraft in 2022
Credit: AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Despite making advancements in flight experience, such as introducing a Premium Economy option and reducing costs, the airline had “substantial doubt as to the company’s ability to continue as a going concern within 12 months.”
Weeks after releasing the quarterly earnings report, the airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a second time in late August 2025.
A news release read that the airline was “executing a comprehensive restructuring” at the time, and would be downsizing its fleet, anticipating generating “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Spirit emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2025, having filed in November 2024. “Spirit expects to continue operating its business in the normal course throughout this prearranged, streamlined chapter 11 process,” the airline said in a statement at the time.
“Guests can continue to book and fly without interruption and can use all tickets, credits and loyalty points as normal.”
Passengers in an airport (stock image)
Credit: Getty
Years prior, a merger between Frontier and Spirit was announced to create the fifth-largest airline in the U.S.
The airlines expected to “change the industry for the benefit of consumers, bringing more ultra-low fares to more travelers in more destinations across the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, including major cities as well as underserved communities,” a statement from Frontier and Spirit read from February 2022.
It was ultimately blocked by a federal judge in March 2024, per the Associated Press.
PEOPLE has reached out to Spirit Airlines and the FAA for further comment.
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