Revision History

Spirit Airlines ceased all operations on May 2, 2026, after bondholders rejected a $500 million Trump administration bailout proposal, leaving an estimated 600,000 ticket holders stranded and 17,000 employees out of work. The collapse — driven by $2.5 billion in cumulative losses since 2020, two bankruptcy filings in 15 months, and jet fuel prices that nearly doubled due to the Iran conflict — marks the first major U.S. airline failure in nearly two decades and removes the country's largest source of ultra-low-cost fares, with analysts projecting 15-23% fare increases on routes Spirit once served.