Low-fare pioneer Spirit Airlines shut down Saturday morning after 34 years — the last few mired in financial struggles including two bankruptcies and failure this week to secure a $500 million federal bailout.
“It is with great disappointment that on May 2, 2026, Spirit Airlines started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately,” a notice on the Spirit website stated. “To our Guests: all flights have been cancelled, and customer service is no longer available. … we are not able to help rebook your flight on another airline.”
Spirit operates flights to and from Los Angeles International Airport, Hollywood Burbank Airport and John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, has an estimated 9,500 full-time employees and roughly 17,000 contractors.
People with tickets or plans to use other Spirit-related services were advised to visit a set of links posted at spiritrestructuring.com/guests for details about refunds and related matters rather than going to an airport.
“Please refer to the links and FAQ below for more information about your booking and next steps,” to notice advised. “Thank you for choosing Spirit – we are grateful to all our Guests who flew with us over the past 34 years.”
The airline said it would automatically start processing refunds for tickets purchased through the airline with a credit or debit card.
“Compensation for guests who booked flights” using a voucher, credit or free Spirit points “will be determined at a later date through the bankruptcy process,” the airline explained.
Industry observers said customers who paid cash or used airline loyalty points could be out of luck since those points cannot be transferred to other airlines’ loyalty programs unless exceptions are made.
Those who paid with a credit card were also advised to contact their banks for a possible chargeback due to Spirit’s failure to provide the promised services.
Travel experts also said Spirit ticket holders should not make any attempt to cancel at this point because it would eliminate all proof and protections they made need during the refund/compensation process.
Meanwhile, several other airlines noted on social media or their websites that they are prepared to assist Spirit customers.
“We know that uncertainty is never easy,” JetBlue Airways noted on X prior to Spirit’s Saturday announcement. “We’re here to help if Spirit Airlines’ operations are suspended and your travel plans are disrupted.”
Frontier Airlines made a similar offer, also on the X platform.
“We are ready to support customers who may be impacted if Spirit Airlines ceases operations, with a focus on helping people continue their travel plans with low-fare options,” Frontier posted.
Longterm, experts said the loss of Spirit Airlines will likely result in higher fares from the remaining carriers as people begin making Summer travel plans.
“Any time you have a reduction in capacity and demand increases, airfares have nowhere to go but up,” CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg told the network’s Boston station. “And that doesn’t count the fares that are already rising because of the spike in fuel prices.”
The low-cost airline had been in financial straits for years, still reeling from the earlier impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently from spiking gas prices and increased competition.
Proposed mergers with JetBlue and Frontier also fell through.
Spirit has twice filed for bankruptcy protection — in November 2024 and August 2025, when it reported a net loss of about $246 million from March through mid-June.
It announced a restructuring agreement in March, saying the company hoped to emerge from bankruptcy by early summer.
But the financial troubles persisted, and the airline began negotiations aimed at securing the federal bailout.
The proposal was met with skepticism in some corners, given that it would essentially give the government majority ownership of the airline.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal and other media outlets reported that the bailout talks had broken down, forcing the airline could be forced to cease operations even though President Donald Trump had said a deal was still possible.
Speaking to reporters at the White House Friday, Trump said the government had presented the airline with a “final proposal,” and suggested a deal is still possible.
“If we can do it, we’ll do it, but only if it’s a good deal,” he said. “I’d like to save the jobs.”