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Spirit Airlines has announced that it has gone out of business after the low-cost airline ran out of cash and a rescue attempt by the Trump administration appeared to stall.
The airline that once operated hundreds of daily flights on its bright yellow planes and employed about 17,000 people said that after 34 years it had “started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately”.
The airline said all flights had been cancelled and customer service was no longer available.
“We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come,” the announcement said.
The company had struggled to make a deal with its creditors and secure funding to maintain operations, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the matter.
After earlier reports that Spirit was close to liquidation, the Trump administration said it was working out a deal to keep the carrier afloat, including a potential $500m loan from the federal government.
Donald Trump said last week he was aware the company had been struggling and even suggested the federal government could buy out the carrier.
On Friday, he told reporters an announcement could come later Friday or Saturday. “We gave them a final proposal,” the president said. “We’re looking at it, but if we can’t make a good deal – no institutions been able to do it. I said I’d like to save the jobs.”
A creditor close to the deal said: “The Trump administration made an extraordinary effort to try and save Spirit, but you can’t breathe life into a corpse. Given that, the company should make its intentions clear for the sake of its customers and employees.”
Although travellers still could book flights on the airline’s website on Friday afternoon, people who said they had existing reservations or credits flooded Spirit’s social media feed with questions about upcoming flights and demands for refunds. Some US airlines, meanwhile, said they would step in to support Spirit customers if the airline went under.
Spirit and other airlines have been struggling with high oil prices that have pushed up the price of jet fuel. The company’s woes predated the war in Iran, though, as the company has struggled to increase post-pandemic demand.
In 2024, a federal judge blocked a $3.8bn merger between JetBlue and Spirit on antitrust grounds, saying the merger would reduce competition among airlines and harm customers.
The White House, in earlier statements, said the company would “be on a much firmer financial footing had the Biden administration not recklessly blocked the airline’s merger with JetBlue”.
A group of other budget carriers, including Frontier and Avelo, reportedly pitched a $2.5bn bailout to the Trump administration last week, arguing they had been disproportionately affected by higher fuel prices.
Budget airlines offer consumers low base-level fares but typically add on hefty fees for services such as carry-on bags and seat selection.
Leaders of the “big three” US carriers – American Airlines, Delta and United – have said their companies have been affected by fuel prices, but that solid demand has made them resilient against rising prices. Last month, the CEO of Delta said demand among high-paying customers remained strong and that the company still had room to raise fare prices.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Founded in 1983 as Charter One Airlines, Florida-headquartered Spirit operates throughout the US, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Experts warned this week that the carrier’s failure would create less competition within the consolidated airline industry and likely lead to higher prices for consumers.
