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Spirit Airlines ceased all its operations on Saturday morning and immediately canceled all of its flights, marking the end of 34 years of history following the failure of a last-minute government rescue of 500 million dollars negotiated with the Trump administration, as reported by the Miami Herald.
"It is with great regret that Spirit Airlines has begun to reduce its global operations, effective immediately. All flights have been canceled and customer service is no longer available," stated the airline in its official announcement.
The rescue attempt failed due to internal discrepancies within the administration itself and the rejection by a key group of bondholders to the proposed terms, which would have involved a state stake of up to 90% in the company.
President Donald Trump had given Spirit a "final proposal" for a takeover with public funds, but the negotiations did not reach a successful conclusion.
The airline, known for its yellow planes and no-frills fares, had its operations center at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and its headquarters in Dania Beach, Florida, where it arrived in 1999 after moving from Detroit.
The closure represents a devastating blow for that airport: in 2025, Spirit was the dominant airline with a 28% market share and carried more passengers than any other company to or from that terminal.
The company had more than 17,000 employees at the time of closing.
The downfall of Spirit was the result of years of accumulated crisis. The airline filed for bankruptcy for the first time in November 2024, with debts exceeding 7.4 billion dollars and accumulated losses of 2.5 billion since 2020.
It emerged from that first bankruptcy in March 2025, but just five months later, it filed for a second legal protection—known as "Chapter 22"—an unprecedented occurrence in American aviation since 2010.
The 95% increase in aviation fuel prices, resulting from the military conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran that began on February 28, 2026, was the final blow for an airline that was already in intensive care.
Roger Hayder, a passenger who showed up in Fort Lauderdale after his flight was canceled, summarized the experience of thousands affected: "I made a reservation, tried to get my boarding pass, and it said canceled. I tried to write to them and talk to them, nothing."
The United States Department of Transportation immediately activated a relief program for stranded passengers. Secretary Sean Duffy stated, "Within hours, we have activated our partner airlines to ensure that passengers are not left stranded, that communities maintain access to routes, that fares do not skyrocket, and that Spirit's workforce has access to new job opportunities."
JetBlue offers rescue fares of 99 dollars to stranded passengers and is expanding its service in Fort Lauderdale with 11 new destinations. Frontier, American, Delta, and Avianca also announced reduced fares or no-charge returns based on availability.
Spirit will automatically process refunds for tickets paid with credit or debit cards.
Passengers who booked with vouchers or Free Spirit points will have to wait for the bankruptcy court proceedings to determine their compensation. Fort Lauderdale airport has warned travelers to not go to the airport if they have Spirit tickets.
The airline also operated flights to Cuba from Fort Lauderdale between 2016 and May 2017, being significant for the Cuban-American community in Florida before withdrawing from those routes.
"We are proud of the impact that our ultra-low-cost model has had on the sector over the past 33 years and we hoped to continue serving our customers for many more years," Spirit declared on Saturday when announcing its definitive closure.
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