Struggling Spirit Airlines, the discount pioneer whose low fares opened doors to travel for millions, has started to shut down operations after 11th hour talks for a U.S. government bailout failed, according to reports Friday.
A company spokesperson declined comment on “ongoing discussions” in Washington and in an email to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, said, “Spirit is operating as usual.”
Both the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported the carrier was poised to close after a breakdown in talks between the U.S. Department of Commerce and some of Spirit’s major creditors who had helped keep the South Florida-based carrier flying since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2025.
As President Donald Trump prepared to leave the White House on Friday on his way to The Villages in Central Florida, he said an announcement would come soon about the future of the troubled airline.
Self-described as the “hometown airline” of Greater Fort Lauderdale, the company with its headquarters in Dania Beach still operates a reduced fleet of several dozen Airbus jetliners to several dozen destinations in the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America.
Spirit still has thousands of employees, but as part of its revamped recovery plan recently announced it would focus on operations in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Greater New York and Detroit.
Spirit continued to sell tickets this week in the face of a flying public that was booking away from the airline as publicity grew over its tenuous financial position.
Florida airports that would lose service in the event of a shutdown include Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where Spirit was still No. 1 in passengers served as of February, as well as Miami International Airport, Palm Beach International Airport and Orlando International Airport, among others.
The airline had been reportedly poised to liquidate as recently as last week after creditors raised objections about its proposed reorganization plan, which was designed to be a road map out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding early this summer.
But then, Trump publicly raised the possibility of helping Spirit, and a reported proposed bailout including a $500 million loan in return for a 90% stake in the carrier came into play.
The airline was poised to exit Chapter 11 as early as this summer after management had renegotiated aircraft and ground leases, arranged for operating capital with major lenders, sold planes and gained $100 million in contract savings from its unionized pilots, flight attendants and ground workers.
But the U.S. war with Iran changed the calculations for long-term survival as jet fuel prices soared, exacting a new round of financial pressure on the company.
Spirit last month acknowledged that spiking fuel prices driven by war in the Middle East could well hamper its business prospects.
In a disclosure statement filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, management warned the rising price of fuel was one of the more prominent risks confronting the company as it prepared to exit bankruptcy this summer for a new life as a smaller airline with a lighter debt load.
“Recent fluctuations in the price and availability of fuel arising out of the conflict in the Middle East and Iran could negatively impact the Debtors’ financial results,” the airline said.
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