Spirit Airlines Shuts Down and Cancels All Flights

Spirit Airlines ceased all operations on Saturday after 43 years, stranding passengers on 277 cancelled flights and eliminating some 17,000 jobs. A Spirit Airlines pilot addressed passengers mid-flight on a route to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, stating that the aircraft was the second-to-last to land.

"We are the second-to-last plane to land – every other plane has landed; flights are not taking off again," the pilot said.

The pilot added, "We’ve been in the air since 1983, 43 years, and unfortunately, that’s over. " Spirit promised refunds to affected customers. United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and Southwest capped prices for passengers seeking replacement flights.

Frontier Airlines, which had planned to merge with Spirit four years earlier, said it expects a revenue per available seat mile uplift of 3% to 5% from the removal of Spirit capacity. Before the collapse, Spirit accounted for 35% seat overlap with Frontier and 31% with JetBlue, according to Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth.

Frontier chief commercial officer Bobby Schroeter said on an earnings call that the exit supports the uplift going forward.

Frontier forecast unit revenue growth of more than 20% in the second quarter of 2026 and adjusted losses per share of 45 cents to 60 cents for the first quarter. Its shares rose more than 6% in afternoon trading after the results. JetBlue said it would add service at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Spirit’s former home hub.

U.S. regulator in 2024. President Trump had contemplated a $500 million bailout for Spirit, but the deal fell through. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the collapse to the prior administration’s decision to block the JetBlue merger.

"Spirit tried to merge with JetBlue. The Joe Biden-Pete Buttigieg administration and DOJ tanked that deal," Duffy said. " Barry Biffle, former chief executive of Frontier and former chief marketing officer of Spirit, has pointed to the earlier planned combination of the two carriers as a potential alternative path.