Spirit Airlines said Saturday that it is shutting down after 34 years, ending all operations right away and canceling every scheduled flight.
The Florida-based budget airline posted a notice saying it had started an orderly wind-down. It also said customer service was no longer available. Travelers were told refunds would be processed, but the company would not arrange replacement trips on other airlines.
For many passengers, the news came suddenly. Some people still showed up at airports Saturday morning expecting to board. In Atlanta, a few Spirit flights were still listed as on time on departure screens while confused travelers stood nearby trying to figure out what happened.
Taylor Nantang had arrived with her husband and four children for a family trip to Miami after driving from Tennessee.
She said she was shocked to learn the airline had closed across the country. The family had planned a quick vacation, and instead ended up stranded before it even began.
Other customers were asking when refund money might return to their cards. Some tried calling support lines, though the company had already said service channels were unavailable. There was not much direction for them in the moment.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said passengers who booked directly through Spirit would be covered by a reserve fund set aside for refunds. People who bought tickets through travel websites or agencies would need to contact those sellers instead.
He also warned travelers not to head to airports for future Spirit departures because no airline staff would be there to help.
Duffy said several carriers, including United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest, were offering reduced one-way fares for stranded Spirit customers for a limited time if they could show proof of purchase.
Spirit said it was also trying to reposition more than 1,300 crew members back to their home bases after the shutdown notice. The airline’s last flight reportedly ended in Dallas after departing from the Detroit area.
The company had been under financial pressure for years. It struggled after the COVID-19 pandemic as costs rose and debt piled up. The airline also faced a sharp jump in fuel expenses tied to the Iran war, which pushed jet fuel prices far above earlier expectations.
Spirit had entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2024 after reporting losses totaling more than $2.5 billion since 2020. It sought bankruptcy protection again in August 2025, listing billions in debt and assets in court filings.
The White House had recently discussed a possible rescue package, with President Donald Trump saying a final proposal was being considered. No agreement was reached before the shutdown.
Supporters of aid for the airline, including labor unions for pilots, flight attendants and ground crews, had argued that a collapse would eliminate thousands of jobs and reduce competition in the airline market.
Around 17,000 workers could be affected.
Spirit had built its brand around low base fares, charging extra for bags, seat assignments and other add-ons. That model attracted travelers focused on price, especially vacation flyers, but demand changed in recent years as some passengers chose more comfort-oriented options.
The airline carried about 1.7 million domestic passengers in February, according to Cirium, an aviation data firm. That was down by roughly half a million from the same month a year earlier.
Its schedule had also been shrinking. This month, available seats were about half of what Spirit offered in May 2024.
Former flight attendant Freddy Peterson, who worked for the airline for a decade, said he checked the company website early Saturday after hearing rumors overnight.
That was when he saw the cancellation notice. He later traveled home and said the reality of losing the job had not fully hit yet.
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