Spirit Airlines ceased all operations at 3AM ET on Saturday, May 3, 2026, ending 34 years in business. Every flight was canceled. The website now redirects to spiritrestructuring.com, telling ticketholders to stay home. Air traffic control recordings captured controllers and pilots exchanging final sign-offs as the last Spirit aircraft touched down.
The proximate cause: jet fuel prices doubled after the Trump administration's military conflict with Iran disrupted global oil supply. Spirit, already operating on razor-thin ultra-low-cost margins with no financial cushion, could not absorb the shock. Passengers who bought directly with credit or debit cards are being issued refunds, though processing timelines remain unclear.
The full story is worth reading for the ATC audio alone, but the bigger question it raises is which other carriers are next. Spirit was the canary. The fuel price crisis that killed it is still live.
[READ ORIGINAL →]