LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Low-fare pioneer Spirit Airlines shut down this morning after 34 years — the last few mired in financial struggles, including two bankruptcies and failure this week to secure a $500 million federal bailout.
“It is with great disappointment that on May 2, 2026, Spirit Airlines started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately,” a notice on the Spirit website stated. “To our Guests: all flights have been cancelled, and customer service is no longer available. … we are not able to help rebook your flight on another airline. Spirit president and CEO Dave Davis further explained the airline’s demise.
“Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure,” Davis said in a statement. “This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted.”
Spirit operated flights to and from Los Angeles International Airport, Hollywood Burbank Airport and John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, had an estimated 9,500 full-time employees and roughly 17,000 contractors.
It ceased operations shortly after Midnight PST Saturday.
People with tickets or plans to use other Spirit-related services were advised to visit a set of links posted at spiritrestructuring.com/guests for details about refunds and related matters rather than going to an airport.
“Please refer to the links and FAQ below for more information about your booking and next steps,” the notice advised. “Thank you for choosing Spirit – we are grateful to all our Guests who flew with us over the past 34 years.”
Spirit said it would automatically start processing refunds for tickets purchased through the airline with a credit or debit card.
“Compensation for guests who booked flights using a voucher, credit or free Spirit points will be determined at a later date through the bankruptcy process,” the airline explained.
Industry observers said customers who paid cash or used airline loyalty points could be out of luck since those points cannot be transferred to other airlines’ loyalty programs unless exceptions are made.
Those who paid with a credit card were also advised to contact their banks for a possible chargeback due to Spirit’s failure to provide the promised services.
Refunds and other compensation would not include reimbursement for emergency hotel stays or other expenses incurred due to the flight cancellations unless those fees are covered by the traveller’s insurance plan.
Travel experts said Spirit ticket holders should not make any attempt to cancel at this point because it would eliminate all proof and protections they may need during the refund/compensation process.
Meanwhile, several other airlines noted on social media or their websites that they are prepared to assist Spirit customers.
“We know that uncertainty is never easy,” JetBlue Airways noted on X prior to Spirit’s Saturday announcement. “We’re here to help if Spirit Airlines’ operations are suspended and your travel plans are disrupted.” Frontier Airlines made a similar offer, also on the X platform.
“We are ready to support customers who may be impacted if Spirit Airlines ceases operations, with a focus on helping people continue their travel plans with low-fare options,” Frontier posted.
In a statement reported by The Aviation Circle trade publication, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, “We’ve activated our airline partners to ensure passengers are not stranded, communities maintain route access, fares do not skyrocket, and Spirit’s workforce is connected to new job opportunities.”
The department said American, United, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Allegiant, Frontier, Avelo and Breeze airlines have all agreed to support impacted Spirit passengers.
This includes capping fares for between 72 hours and two weeks, depending on the airline.
Spirit’s former competitors are also making provisions for pilots, flight attendants and other employees who need to get home from their last work-related destination.
Some are offering former Spirit employees preferential access to job openings, including dedicated microsites at the American and United websites.
Longterm, experts said the loss of Spirit Airlines will likely result in higher fares from the remaining carriers just as people begin making Summer travel plans.
“Any time you have a reduction in capacity and demand increases, airfares have nowhere to go but up,” CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg told the network’s Boston station. “And that doesn’t count the fares that are already rising because of the spike in fuel prices.”
The low-cost airline had been in financial straits for years, still reeling from the earlier impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently from spiking gas prices and increased competition.
Proposed mergers with JetBlue and Frontier also fell through.
Spirit had twice filed for bankruptcy protection, with the first coming in November 2024. The second bankruptcy filing came in August 2025, when the airline reported a net loss of about $246 million from March through mid-June 2025.
It announced a restructuring agreement in March, saying the company hoped to emerge from bankruptcy by early summer.
But the financial troubles persisted, and the airline began negotiations aimed at securing the federal bailout.
The proposal was met with skepticism in some corners, given that it would essentially give the government majority ownership of the airline.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal and other media outlets reported that bailout talks had broken down, forcing the airline to cease operations even though President Donald Trump had said a deal was still possible.
Speaking to reporters at the White House Friday, Trump said the government had presented the airline with a “final proposal.”
“If we can do it, we’ll do it, but only if it’s a good deal,” he said. “I’d like to save the jobs.”
Florida-based Spirit is the first major US airline in 25 years to go out of business because of financial problems, CNN reported.
Spirit was the outgrowth of a Michigan-based trucking company that began offering charter flights in 1983.
It rebranded as Spirit Airlines in May 1992 and eventually developed a business model built around keeping operating costs low and offering passengers cheap ticket prices.
Those lower prices came with additional fees for amenities other airlines offered for free, including printed boarding passes, seat selection and extra baggage.
In 2012, Delta Air Lines introduced lower but restrictive “basic economy” fares that were roughly the same as those offered by Spirit. United, American and other airlines soon followed with their own discounted options.
This allowed passengers to buy cheaper tickets with larger airlines that offered more frequent flights and shorter wait times between connecting flights.