As of Saturday, May 2, 2026, low-cost US carrier Spirit Airlines officially ceased all operations, initiating an “orderly wind-down” after a final bailout proposal from the Trump administration failed to gain traction with creditors.
“Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc., parent company of Spirit Airlines … today regretfully announced that the Company has started an orderly wind-down of operations, effective immediately.
“All Spirit flights have been cancelled, and Spirit Guests should not go to the airport,” the airline said in a statement in the early hours of Saturday.
Spirit had 4,119 domestic flights scheduled between May 1 and May 15, offering 809,638 seats, according to the latest data from Cirium.
The airline’s website now states that customer support is no longer reachable through traditional channels.
Thousands of travelers are currently stranded with competitors like Frontier Airlines and United Airlines indicating they may offer rescue fares or support for those affected.
The collapse of the carrier due to a doubling in jet fuel prices during the two-month-old Iran war will cost thousands of jobs.
It is also a blow to US President Donald Trump, who had proposed $500m to save Spirit despite opposition from some of his closest advisers and many Republicans in Congress.
Spirit had reached a deal with its lenders that would have helped it emerge from its second bankruptcy but those plans derailed after the US war on Iran triggered a spike in jet fuel prices, upending Spirit’s cost projections and complicating its bankruptcy exit.
