Spirit Airlines, the impish upstart that shook the aviation industry with its cheeky ads and rock-bottom fares, announced Saturday that it has gone out of business after 34 years.
The ultralow-cost carrier, once known for its bright yellow planes and hundreds of daily flights, said it had “started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately.”
The airline, which employed about 17,000 people, also noted on its website that all flights have been canceled and customer service is 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 read.
The company assured customers they could expect refunds but offered no help in rebooking travel on other airlines.
The shutdown came as no surprise after Friday passed without a much-needed government bailout for the struggling carrier.
US President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration had given Spirit a “final proposal” for a taxpayer-funded takeover, but no deal was reached.
Trump had floated the idea of a bailout last week after Spirit entered bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in less than two years, driven by soaring jet fuel prices due to the Iran war. According to Spirit lawyer Marshall Huebner, roughly 17,000 jobs could be affected.
Spirit has been financially strained since the COVID-19 pandemic, weighed down by rising operating costs and mounting debt. By the time it filed for Chapter 11 protection in November 2024, the airline had lost over 2.5 billion since the start of 2020. It sought bankruptcy protection again in August 2025, reporting 8.1 billion in debts and $ 8.6 billion in assets, per court filings.
Supporters of a rescue—including unions representing Spirit’s pilots, flight attendants, and ramp workers—warned that a collapse would put thousands out of work and hurt consumers by reducing airline competition and driving up fares.
Budget-conscious and leisure travelers will likely feel Spirit’s absence the most, especially in markets where it had a large footprint, such as Las Vegas and the Florida cities of Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
The carrier flew about 1.7 million domestic passengers in February—roughly half a million fewer than the same month a year earlier, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Spirit also sharply reduced its capacity, offering about half as many seats this month as in May 2024.
