LAS VEGAS — Spirit Airlines shut down overnight after 34 years in operation, canceling all flights and closing call centers and ticket counters.
The carrier’s final flight departed Detroit and landed in Dallas on Thursday. Surging jet fuel costs tied to the Iran conflict led the already struggling airline to cease operations.
Travelers across the country were impacted, many not realizing their flights were canceled until arriving at the airport.
MORE ON FOX5: Spirit Airlines faces potential shutdown as bailout negotiations stall
Stranded passengers scramble for alternatives
At Harry Reid International Airport, Spirit planes sat permanently parked as travelers inside worked to reach their destinations.
Eric Simmons flew into Las Vegas from Burbank, California, expecting to be on Spirit Airlines
However, once he got to the airport, Simmons found out his original flight was canceled.
“I said, hey, which way to Spirit? His response was, it’s canceled. I said, what do you mean by that? What do you mean they’re canceled? So sure enough, we got to Spirit everything. The whole place was shut down,” Simmons said.
Simmons arrived early enough to book a new flight, but said many others were not as fortunate.
“I’m sure it was a bunch of people because the flight we got onto was sold out and I know that was because all those other people wanted on,” Simmons said.
Failed merger preceded shutdown
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a proposed merger of Spirit and JetBlue that was denied by the Biden administration in 2024 contributed to the airline’s collapse.
“By keeping an airline that wasn’t healthy from a merger, it doesn’t make the industry stronger. It created problems in the aviation industry,” Duffy said.
Spirit filed for bankruptcy immediately after that decision and filed a second time last August, putting the airline in financial trouble before the war in Iran started.
“Their model wasn’t working. They couldn’t get to fiscal health. So this was not the impetus. The war was not the impetus for Spirit,” Duffy said.
Echoes of past airline failures
Carol Frymire, who worked with Eastern Airlines decades ago, recalled when that airline filed for bankruptcy and shut down.
“I just recall taking phone calls from people who were stuck in the Bahamas. I cried with them because I couldn’t help them. I said, you’re going to have to buy a ticket to come home and I don’t know what to say to you. There’s nothing I can do or say that will get you home,” Frymire said.
“Why are we doing this to people? Why does it wait till it’s this? I don’t know, 11th hour, and then you’re stranding people all over the country,” Frymire said.
Airlines offer discounted fares
American and Delta airlines are offering reduced fares across the board for high-volume Spirit routes. Allegiant is freezing fare prices on routes it shares with Spirit. Frontier Airlines is offering 50 percent off base fares until May 10.
Duffy said airlines are capping fares, often around $200 for one-way tickets. Travelers will need to provide their confirmation number from Spirit and proof of payment.
Anyone who bought airfare directly from Spirit will get a refund, but anyone who booked through third-party sites or travel agents will have to go back to those vendors, Duffy said.
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