Spirit Airlines ceased all operations in the early hours of Saturday, 2 May 2026, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the United States. The 34-year-old budget carrier — the first American airline to fail for financial reasons in 25 years — announced its closure at 2:35 am after failing to secure a $500 million (£395 million) government bailout from the Trump administration.
The airline's president and CEO, Dave Davis, cited the 'sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices' as a key factor in the airline's final collapse. Its last flight, Spirit 1833, travelled from Detroit to Dallas and touched down just after midnight, quietly closing the chapter on three decades of ultra-low-cost air travel.
