Spirit Airlines Shuts Down After Fuel Prices Surge

Spirit Airlines has ceased operations after 34 years in business, canceling all flights at 3 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday. The ultra-low-cost carrier's website now redirects to spiritrestructuring.com, which instructs ticketholders not to go to airports. The shutdown could affect as many as 17,000 jobs, according to a lawyer for the airline. The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents more than 2,000 Spirit pilots, said its members deserved better. Other airlines have announced rescue fares: Southwest is offering special fares for Spirit ticketholders, JetBlue has $99 one-way fares for passengers with existing Spirit itineraries on the same route, American Airlines is offering rescue fares on Spirit routes with nonstop service, and Frontier is offering systemwide rescue fare discounts plus additional routes and daily flights in former Spirit markets. In a statement, Spirit President and CEO Dave Davis said the company reached a restructuring agreement with bondholders in March 2026 that would have allowed it to continue as a going concern. But the sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices in recent weeks left the company with no alternative but to wind down. The airline's restructuring plan had assumed $2.24 per gallon fuel prices, but prices had climbed to more than $4.50 per gallon last month, Davis said. Spirit had not turned a profit since 2019. The company filed for bankruptcy for the second time in two years. JetBlue attempted a hostile takeover in 2022 that was blocked by the courts, while merger proposals from Frontier also failed. The airline had taken on billions in debt in late 2019 to lease new aircraft and add routes, just before the COVID-19 pandemic suppressed travel demand. Maintenance costs also rose after a Pratt & Whitney jet engine recall grounded nearly 20 percent of its fleet. Reuters reported that talks with the White House about a proposed $500 million financing package fell through. The deal would have provided the government with warrants equivalent to 90 percent of Spirit's equity.