Spirit Airlines shutting down after rescue talks collapse

Spirit's customer service is no longer available, the airline said early on Saturday, but customers with questions can contact the carrier's claims agent. Fuel costs can make up as much as 40% of an airline's outgoings, and airlines have seen the cost of jet fuel double since the US and Israeli strikes began at the end of February. Savanthi Syth, airlines analyst at the investment bank Raymond James, said spiralling jet fuel costs in the wake of the Iran war had proved "the final nail in the coffin" for Spirit. Speaking to the BBC, Syth said the operator had shied away from the radical overhaul it needed during a 2024 bankruptcy procedure. Spirit had been in the process of making the changes it needed in its current bankruptcy process, scaling back the number of flights it was offering and aircraft it owned, she said. But its ability to survive the year was in question even before the Iran war, Syth added. "If it wasn't for the fuel scenario, they would have been okay through the summer, beyond the summer I would have said it was still precarious." Some have been cutting flights and others have hiked fares to cope with the cost increases. At the same time, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned Europe could run out of jet fuel in as little as six weeks. At the end of April, Spirit had been confident its rescue deal with the Trump administration was to be finalised imminently. But after that deal fell through, Trump on Friday told BBC partner CBS the airline had been offered "a final proposal" to keep it in business.

The earlier plan, which would have seen the US government take effective ownership of as much as 90% of the airline, faced stiff opposition from Wall Street, Capitol Hill and even a member of Trump's own cabinet. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Reuters a rescue would amount to tossing "good money after bad". Correction 02/05/2026: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the refund process for cancelled Spirit flights. Companies Air travel