2026-05-02 17:40
publication
2026-05-02 17:40
American airline Spirit Airlines announced on Saturday that it was canceling all its flights. Talks with the carrier's creditors regarding the rescue program proposed by Donald Trump in the amount of $500 million failed. The company had been struggling with financial problems for a long time, but ultimately the increase in fuel prices related to the conflict in the Middle East finished them off.
“It is with great disappointment that we announce that on May 2, 2026, Spirit Airlines began the orderly termination of our operations with immediate effect,” Spirit Airlines published on Saturday.
All flights have been canceled and customer service is no longer available. We are proud of the impact our ultra-low-cost model has had on the industry over the last 34 years, they added.
The failure of Trump's rescue plan
On Friday, Donald Trump himself emphasized that the team he had appointed was checking options for rescuing the airlines. The administration was able to provide up to $500 million. At the same time, however, he emphasized that he would take action, but only if he “made a good deal.” The talks stalled because some of the creditors, to whom the airlines owe a total of USD 3 billion, did not support the rescue package, choosing to liquidate the company's assets instead of restructuring it. One of the arguments included millions of dollars in operating losses, which increased dramatically with the war in Iran.
– The Trump administration has made an extraordinary effort to try to save Spirit, but you can't breathe life into a corpse – said a creditor close to the transaction in a statement for the Financial Times.
Passengers on ice, planes grounded
United Airlines is preparing support for both Spirit customers and employees, by setting maximum prices on Spirit's most popular routes.
Other American airlines are already preparing to take over assets, i.e. takeoff and landing rights at such hubs as Fort Lauderdale in Florida, Newark in New Jersey or LaGuardia in New York. In March, Spirit served approximately 496,000. passengers. The airline had 237 flights scheduled to and from 46 different domestic and international destinations in the coming week.
Spirit Airlines, established in 1992, was one of the first low-cost airlines on the American market. According to data from the Ministry of Transport, from February 2025 to January 2026, they transported approximately 28 million passengers. In 2024, they employed over 11,000. people.
The aviation industry is “hungry”. Fuel prices have jumped by 120 percent, and Europe is fighting for oil with the US
It is no longer a fight for fire, but for oil straight from “Mad Max” – the European Union is to fight for every cargo of aviation fuel that appears on the market – reports CNBC. Analysts speak directly about a global stress test for the aviation industry.
ed. ed/pap
