Aviation companies step up as Spirit winds down

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WASHINGTON - US air carriers mobilised Saturday to help passengers and crew members stranded by the overnight shutdown of Spirit Airlines, after last-minute talks with creditors and the White House collapsed.

The budget airline known for its bright yellow planes succumbed to crushing fuel prices and announced in the early hours of Saturday that "all flights have been canceled, and customer service is no longer available" as it "started winding down its global operations, effective immediately."

Other carriers, including American, Delta, United, and jetBlue, leapt at the news Saturday, offering what some dubbed "rescue fares" to those waking up with cancelled itineraries.

Some said they were increasing flights or the size of planes in and out of airports where Spirit had a significant presence.

Carriers also sought to support marooned Spirit staff and hire them. Several carriers encouraged now-jobless crew members to apply to their open roles.

Spirit had been in bankruptcy since August 2025, its second in less than a year  and the White House had been considering a bailout.

"The recent material increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business have significantly impacted Spirit's financial outlook," the company said in a statement. "With no additional funding available to the company, Spirit had no choice but to begin this wind-down."

It has promised refunds.

The bag drop and customer service counters at the departures terminal for Spirit Airlines sit empty as operations ceased for the company at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts on May 2, 2026.

'Like a dog on a bone'

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy scrambled to defend the Trump administration's position, as a rescue plan never materialised.

"The President was like a dog on a bone trying to figure out a way to keep Spirit afloat," Duffy said in a morning press conference at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

"In the end, this was a creditor issue. Again, they have the final say of whether they want to do a deal with the government," he added. "But also from the government's perspective, we oftentimes don't have a half a billion dollars laying around in a spare account that we can put into a bailout of an airline."

Duffy blamed the previous Biden administration for blocking a proposed merger between Spirit and JetBlue in March 2024.

"We had an airline go down because the markets were trying to allow two airlines to merge, make them stronger and offer more competition for the American consumer," he said. "History has judged the denial of the merger between jetBlue and Spirit through the Biden administration with, I think, a view that it was a massive mistake."

Duffy assured ticket holders that they would get their refunds.

Changing plans

Ramon, 60, from Palm Beach County, Florida, had planned to see family in Honduras this week.

He and his son, Kevin, saw headlines in recent days that Spirit was in trouble.

They contacted Spirit but decided not to take a refund offer since there was no concrete sign the airline would fold, and alternative flights were far more expensive.

"I was trying to go today on another airline, but it was like $1,000 a ticket," Ramon told AFP, asking only to be identified by his first name.

Now, the family says they'll wait for the refund and book a flight in early June.

"I feel bad that my dad had to go through all that last night," Kevin said. "He was really excited and brought (the family) all gifts and everything, but we'll just push it back," he said.

Fuel costs

Launched in 1992, Spirit Airlines became one of the first low-cost carriers in the US. Between February 2025 and January 2026, it carried some 28 million passengers, according to government data.

At the same time, it has been limping along since announcing a bankruptcy in November 2024 and a second one in August 2025.

In late February, Spirit said it had reached an "agreement in principle" to restructure its debts and that it expected to emerge from bankruptcy by early summer.

Days later, the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and skyrocketing jet fuel prices.

In recent weeks, the White House considered a government rescue for the airline. Hopes began to fade last week as oil prices spiked and creditors were reported in US media to be furious with the stake the government would take in the company in exchange for a bailout.