Fuel prices and failed rescue, Spirit Airlines announces closure
High fuel prices are starting to take their toll on the US economy. American low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines has announced the cancellation of all its flights and the initiation of a “phased cessation” of operations, following the failure of bailout negotiations. “Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Spirit Airlines, regretfully announced today the initiation of a phased and orderly cessation of operations, effective immediately. All Spirit flights have been canceled, and Spirit customers should not travel to the airport,” the airline said in a statement. Spirit thus becomes the first major US airline to cease operations in nearly 25 years. The closure comes as soaring jet fuel prices have derailed plans to exit its second bankruptcy proceedings. Attempts to reach an agreement with the Trump administration on a last-minute bailout plan, acceptable even to a key group of creditors, proved unsuccessful yesterday.
Tariffs likely to rise across the industry in the US
The decision will force millions of passengers holding Spirit tickets to seek alternative travel options in the coming months and will leave 17,000 of the company’s employees unemployed. The airline’s cancellation of flights will likely also lead to higher fares across the US airline industry. A Spirit lawyer told a bankruptcy court last week that the airline was in “very advanced negotiations” with the administration for a bailout. But a key group of creditors has not approved that plan, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. These creditors opposed the package, which reportedly would have given the government control of the vast majority of the airline’s shares.
9 thousand flights scheduled in May
According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, Spirit has approximately 9,000 flights scheduled from May 2nd through the end of the month, for a total of 1.8 million seats. This means that an average of approximately 300 flights and 60,000 potential passengers per day will be affected in the next month alone. Spirit’s closure is the first for a major U.S. airline since Midway Airlines ceased operations shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Founded in 1992, Spirit Airlines, known for its bright yellow planes, is one of the first low-cost carriers in the American market. According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Spirit carried 28 million passengers between February 2025 and January 2026. In 2024 (the latest available data), it employed just over 11,000 people
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