Spirit Airlines Ceases Operations, Lays Off 17,000

Spirit Airlines ceased all operations early Saturday morning, May 2, 2026, abruptly ending more than three decades of service as a major U.S. budget carrier and leaving approximately 17,000 employees without jobs while stranding thousands of passengers nationwide.

The ultralow-cost airline, known for serving leisure travelers in cities like Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando, canceled all flights and halted customer service. Signs at airports such as LaGuardia in New York notified passengers of the shutdown, with departure boards showing widespread cancellations to destinations including Texas, Florida, and the Carolinas. Spirit stated it would process automatic refunds for tickets bought with credit or debit cards but directed those using travel agents, vouchers, or loyalty points to seek resolution through its bankruptcy proceedings.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy addressed the collapse at a press conference in Newark, New Jersey, attributing it in part to the Biden administration's 2024 decision to block a proposed merger with JetBlue. "There was a proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit, and Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, along with the Biden DOJ, decided that...