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U.S. airlines moved Saturday to help passengers and crew members stranded by the sudden shutdown of Spirit Airlines, after last-minute talks with creditors and the White House collapsed.
Spirit, the budget carrier known for its bright yellow planes, announced early Saturday that “all flights have been canceled, and customer service is no longer available” as it began winding down global operations immediately.
Spirit said it had started winding down operations because of worsening financial pressure and a lack of new funding.
“The recent material increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business have significantly impacted Spirit’s financial outlook,” the company said in a statement.
“With no additional funding available to the company, Spirit had no choice but to begin this wind-down,” it added.
The airline said it would provide refunds.
Other U.S. carriers, including American, Delta, United and jetBlue, responded Saturday by offering fares to passengers whose Spirit itineraries had been canceled.
Some airlines described the offers as “rescue fares.”
Several carriers also said they were increasing flights or using larger aircraft at airports where Spirit had a major presence.
Airlines also moved to support Spirit crew members affected by the shutdown. Several carriers encouraged Spirit staff who lost their jobs to apply for open positions.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended the Trump administration’s handling of the failed rescue effort during a news conference at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
“The President was like a dog on a bone trying to figure out a way to keep Spirit afloat,” Duffy said.
“In the end, this was a creditor issue. Again, they have the final say of whether they want to do a deal with the government,” he said.
Duffy added that the government did not have “a half a billion dollars laying around in a spare account” to use for an airline bailout.
He also said ticket holders would receive refunds.
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Duffy blamed the previous Biden administration for blocking a proposed merger between Spirit and JetBlue in March 2024.
“We had an airline go down because the markets were trying to allow two airlines to merge, make them stronger and offer more competition for the American consumer,” he said.
“History has judged the denial of the merger between jetBlue and Spirit through the Biden administration with, I think, a view that it was a massive mistake,” Duffy added.
The shutdown disrupted travelers who had planned to fly with Spirit.
Ramon, 60, from Palm Beach County, Florida, had planned to visit family in Honduras this week.
He and his son, Kevin, had seen reports in recent days that Spirit was in trouble. They contacted the airline but decided not to accept a refund offer because there was no clear sign Spirit would collapse, while flights on other airlines were much more expensive.
“I was trying to go today on another airline, but it was like $1,000 a ticket,” Ramon told AFP, asking to be identified only by his first name.
The family said they would wait for the refund and book another flight in early June.
“I feel bad that my dad had to go through all that last night,” Kevin said. “He was really excited and brought the family all gifts and everything, but we’ll just push it back.”
Spirit was launched in 1992 and became one of the first low-cost carriers in the U.S.
Between February 2025 and January 2026, the airline carried about 28 million passengers, according to government data.
Spirit had been struggling since announcing bankruptcy in November 2024 and then a second bankruptcy in August 2025.
In late February, the airline said it had reached an “agreement in principle” to restructure its debts and expected to emerge from bankruptcy by early summer.
Days later, the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and sharply higher jet fuel prices.
In recent weeks, the White House considered a government rescue for Spirit.
Hopes for a rescue began to fade last week as oil prices spiked and creditors were reported in U.S. media to be angry over the stake the government would take in Spirit in exchange for a bailout.
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