Spirit is halting all flights as of early Saturday, customer service no longer available

By Chris Isidore, CNN

(CNN) — Spirit Airlines has started to shut down operations, cancelling flights and closing customer services, according to a statement on the website dedicated to its failed bankruptcy proceedings.

“It is with great disappointment that on May 2, 2026, Spirit Airlines started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately,” the brief release said. “All flights have been cancelled, and customer service is no longer available,” it read, addressing the low-cost airline’s customers.

The airline reminded passengers arriving at airports for a Spirit flight that it is “unable to provide service,” advising them to “look to rebook your travel on a different airline.”

Closing the brief official statement, released by 2 a.m. ET, the airline said: “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 shutdown comes after soaring jet fuel prices derailed Spirit’s plans to emerge from its second bankruptcy. Efforts to reach a deal with the Trump administration on an 11th-hour rescue package that was also acceptable to a key group of creditors proved unsuccessful Friday.

The decision will leave millions of passengers holding Spirit tickets for coming months scrambling to make other travel arrangements, and put 17,000 Spirit employees out of a job. Eliminating the airline’s flights is also likely to raise fares across the entire US airline industry.

An attorney for Spirit told a bankruptcy court last week that the airline was in “very advanced discussions” with the administration on a rescue package.

But a key group of creditors did not agree to that plan, according to a source familiar with negotiations. Those creditors balked at the package that reportedly would have given the government control of the overwhelming majority the airline’s shares.

Earlier in the day Friday, President Donald Trump seemed to back away from his earlier support of a rescue package for the airline, or possibly even a government purchase.

“Well, we’re looking at it — but if we can’t make a good deal, no institution’s been able to do it,” Trump said on Friday. “I’d like to save the jobs, but we’ll have an announcement sometime today. We gave them a final proposal.”

Rising fuel costs the final blow

All air carriers have been struggling with higher jet fuel costs, which have nearly doubled since the start of the war in Iran. Jet fuel is the second greatest cost for airlines, behind only labor.

To help compensate, airlines have been raising fares and increasing fees, such as for checked bags. But fierce competition for travelers has kept them from passing along all of the costs to customers. And discount carriers like Spirit have a harder time raising fares due to their dependence on bargain-hunting customers.

Spirit had about 9,000 flights scheduled from May 2 through the end of the month, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Those flights have a total of 1.8 million seats. So that’s an average of about 300 flights and 60,000 potential passengers a day affected in just the next month.

What happens to passengers?

In a separate note to its customers, Spirit said that while it is not able to help rebook flights to another airline, it will “automatically process refunds for any flights purchased through Spirit with a credit or debit card to the original form of payment.”

Passengers who booked flights via a travel agent “should contact the travel agent directly to request a refund,” Spirit said. However, compensation for customers who booked flights using any other method, including a voucher, credit or Free Spirit points, “will be determined at a later date through the bankruptcy court process.”

That means those who paid cash, for instance, have now become Spirit’s creditors and will have to wait to be reimbursed with everyone the company owes money.

About an hour before the official announcement, Spirit’s employees were getting word of the loss of their jobs. The leadership of the Association of Flight Attendants at Spirit sent a message out to the union’s 5,000 members at the airline about 1 a.m., stating: “We are delivering the hardest news of our lives that Spirit will permanently cease operations at 3:00 AM Eastern Time on May 2.”

For those passengers in the middle of a trip, they must now find a seat on another airline. Last-minute “walk-up” fares are the most expensive in the industry.

“Spirit is unfortunately not able to reimburse Guests for incidental travel costs associated with cancelled trips. If you purchased travel insurance, check with your carrier to see if these expenses may be covered under your plan”, the company said.

While Trump last week signaled his approval, the idea of a bailout for a single airline sparked backlash from both the airline industry and among Republican members of Congress.

Spirit ranked as the eighth-largest US airline in 2025 by the number of seats offered. The airline was a pioneer in offering ultra-low base fares in the US, charging extra for things like carry-on bags. That model pushed fares lower, even for passengers on other carriers and prompted larger airlines to offer cheap “basic economy” tickets.

Fares across the industry have risen this year due to the spike in jet fuel prices. Removing the 2% of domestic US flights Spirit is scheduled to fly this summer will push fares up even higher.

Losses go back years

But Spirit has been unprofitable since travel plunged shortly after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, warning repeatedly in recent years there was “substantial doubt” over its ability to continue flying. Spirit has filed for bankruptcy twice, most recently in August 2025.

Spirit announced it had reached a deal with its creditors in February to emerge from its latest bankruptcy with less debt and the ability to keep flying. But three days later, the war in Iran started, choking off about 20% of the world’s oil supply and sending jet fuel prices soaring.

Bankruptcies are common in the airline industry, which is a capital-intensive business. Companies deal with massive costs for aircraft and labor, as well as the wild swings in the price of fuel and demand for travel. Even in the best of times, airlines can run on thin margins. Eight major US airlines have filed for bankruptcy over the past 25 years.

In many cases, bankrupt airlines are purchased by solvent rivals, which has led to widespread consolidation. Four major carriers – United, American, Delta and Southwest – now control about 80% of flights available to passengers.

But an airline completely shutting down is far less common. Spirit’s closure is the first shutdown of a significant US airline since Midway Airlines went out of business immediately following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

CNN’s Donald Judd, Ramishah Maruf and Ruben Correa contributed to this report.

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