Spirit Airlines, the ultra-low-cost carrier known for its bright yellow planes and provocative marketing, announced on its website Saturday that it had begun an “orderly wind-down of our operations, with immediate effect.” All flights were canceled, and customer service was no longer available. The shutdown affects an estimated 17,000 workers, according to the company’s attorney, Marshall Huebner.
“We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the past 34 years and had hoped to serve our customers for many more years,” the company said in its statement.
The closure came after a second trip through bankruptcy protection in less than two years. Spirit first filed for Chapter 11 in November 2024, having lost more than $2.5 billion since early 2020. It filed again in August 2025, reporting $8.1 billion in debt against $8.6 billion in assets, with jet fuel prices soaring during the war with Iran.
President Donald Trump had raised the possibility of a government rescue last week. On Friday afternoon, Trump said the situation was being “analyzed” and that a “final proposal” for a publicly funded acquisition had been presented to the airline. No deal was reached before the shutdown.
Unions representing pilots, flight attendants, and ground workers had pressed for a bailout, arguing the airline’s failure would eliminate thousands of American jobs and hurt consumers by removing a low-fare competitor from the market.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said travelers holding Spirit reservations could access limited-time special fares on other carriers, and he noted that other airlines would assist the carrier’s pilots and flight attendants in returning to their home cities. He advised affected passengers to contact their credit card issuers or travel insurance policies about refunds.
The shutdown will be felt most acutely by budget travelers and in markets where Spirit had a heavy presence, including Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando. The airline carried about 1.7 million domestic passengers in February 2026, roughly 500,000 fewer than the same month a year earlier, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Its seat capacity had fallen by about half since May 2024.