At a hearing in New York on Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane authorized Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. to begin an expedited liquidation of the low-cost carrier that had, just days earlier, grounded its fleet without warning. The move clears the way for Spirit to sell off everything from its 114 Airbus jets and 18 spare engines to its gates and landing slots — a process the company’s lawyers argued could not wait.
“Today is a very challenging day. It’s not a day that anybody hoped would ever come,” Lane said from the bench, extending his “sympathy to the Spirit employees and their families.”
The airline had been trying to restructure since filing for Chapter 11 protection in August 2025, but the effort collapsed early Saturday when Spirit abruptly cancelled all future flights. The shutdown was choreographed in the middle of the night, the company said, to ensure its jetliners were on the ground and crews accounted for. The final flight, from Detroit to Dallas, landed after midnight.
In court filings and arguments, Spirit’s attorneys described a business overwhelmed by a sharp run-up in fuel costs. Marshall Huebner, an attorney for the parent company, said the price spike that followed the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran had “engulfed Spirit entirely.” He estimated that fuel expenses grew by roughly $100 million in March and April alone, draining liquidity and destroying any chance of completing the restructuring.
Huebner apologized directly to Spirit’s customers, warning that some may now be “priced out” of routes once served by the ultra-low-cost carrier. He detailed a rapid industry response: other airlines and aviation companies, he said, “sprang into action to get our people home” after Spirit halted flights. About 17,000 people were employed by the airline on its last day of operation, and roughly 50,000 passengers were in transit.
The collapse of a hoped-for government rescue deal sealed the company’s fate. Spirit had been in discussions with the Trump administration, but the talks failed. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said over the weekend that “we oftentimes don’t have half a billion dollars laying around.” Duffy added that United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest were offering $200 one-way fares for a limited time to travelers holding Spirit confirmation numbers, and that several carriers were offering preferential hiring for former Spirit employees.
Spirit’s court-approved plan calls for selling its fleet — including 28 owned A320-family planes and 18 spare engines — along with gates and slots at airports around the country. Another 20 owned aircraft were already set to be sold under a prior deal. A skeleton staff of 130 to 150 employees will oversee the liquidation, a number expected to shrink to about 40 as the wind-down proceeds.
The loss of Spirit marks the end of the nation’s largest no-frills carrier, a brand built on unbundled fares that often undercut competitors by charging fees for everything from carry-on bags to printed boarding passes. Its exit is likely to reshape competition on routes where Spirit’s presence had kept ticket prices low.