spirit airlines shutting down took effect early Saturday when the carrier canceled all flights and said it would begin an orderly wind down, the company said in a statement.
The airline said it had no additional funding available after a recent spike in oil prices and other business pressures significantly harmed its financial outlook.
Spirit President and CEO Dave Davis said sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of dollars of additional liquidity that Spirit did not have and could not procure.
The company had sought help from the White House, and President Donald Trump initially appeared receptive, but negotiations involving bondholders and the government did not produce a deal, officials said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there was potential for a deal but it ended over a creditor issue and warned the government often lacks spare taxpayer funds to bail out an airline.
The carrier had filed for bankruptcy protection more than once and pursued merger talks that failed, and recent reports cited surging jet fuel costs tied to geopolitical events as a final pressure point on its recovery efforts.
Impact On Passengers Employees And Other Airlines
Passengers were told not to go to airports and Spirit said it will automatically refund tickets bought directly with a credit or debit card, while those who booked through travel agents must request refunds from their agents.
The airline warned that passengers will not be reimbursed for incidental costs such as emergency hotels unless covered by travel insurance, and Transportation Secretary Duffy urged customers who paid by credit card to consider chargebacks.
Major carriers moved to limit disruption, with United, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and American agreeing to cap fares for Spirit customers and to assist crews, the Transportation Department said.
JetBlue said it would offer steeply priced one-way fares for affected travelers and impose specific route caps, and JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said the carrier would expand service at Fort Lauderdale to help maintain connectivity and keep fares competitive.
Southwest announced tiered domestic fare caps for short, medium and long segments and said it would honor Spirit frequent flyer statuses and benefits for eligible customers, while other carriers said they would assist stranded crews and promote open vacancies.
Labor leaders and airline unions warned of broad impacts, with Sara Nelson of the Association of Flight Attendants urging a rescue and noting widespread harm to employees and consumers, and social media posts from Spirit staff reflected shock and grief after the sudden job losses.
