Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. has started an orderly wind-down of operations, the troubled discount carrier said in a statement Saturday.
All Spirit flights have been canceled, and passengers have been advised not to go to the airport, after the airline failed to secure a deal with the Trump administration for funding.
The US government had been considering providing Spirit with $500 million in exchange for warrants to purchase up to 90 per cent of the airline once it emerged from bankruptcy. But key creditors wouldn’t agree to the deal, which would have given the government’s claims priority if the carrier were to fail in the future.
The airline has been struggling for years but its problems were compounded by rising jet fuel prices prompted by the US and Israeli war on Iran. The conflict has largely shuttered the Strait of Hormuz, a key passageway for energy flows, leading oil and gas prices to spike.
A bailout for Spirit would have been the latest attempt by President Donald Trump to intervene in a beleaguered US company.
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Published on May 2, 2026