Spirit Airlines said in court papers filed Monday that it was forced to ground its fleet for good over the weekend because “recent geopolitical events resulted in a massive and sustained increase in fuel prices.”
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While the court papers did not specify the nature of those geopolitical events, jet fuel prices have soared in the two months since the start of the war in Iran.
“The Debtors and their advisors searched for increased capital and any sources of savings or liquidity, leaving no option unexplored,” the airline stated in records filed Monday in federal bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York.
“It became clear on Thursday that sufficient incremental liquidity would not be found, and that there were no longer any viable paths to a restructuring or continued operations.”
But Spirit waited until early Saturday to pull the plug on its operations, stranding thousands of travelers midtrip and forcing countless others to rebook on other airlines. Many passengers said they received no warning that Spirit was going under.
Spirit, in the court papers, said it asked the Federal Aviation Administration “to issue a ground stop for Spirit flights to ensure no accidental dispatches” at 3 a.m. Saturday.
Why then? Spirit Airlines’ debtors decided “the safest time to make this announcement was when no planes were in the air and all crew who were away from their bases had sufficient time to check into hotel accommodations,” the court papers state.
“These actions were taken to prioritize the safety of passengers and crew,” they state.
Now, Spirit is requesting the authority to “take necessary steps to wind down its fleet operations.”
“In particular, Spirit is hereby requesting authorization to abandon the aircraft that it owns and are not already subject to a purchase agreement, and to either sell or abandon its owned spare engines and spare parts,” the papers state.
In its official announcement, Spirit said it will automatically refund tickets purchased directly by flyers with a credit or debit card, while those who booked through third parties would have to contact their travel agent.
Spirit said compensation for customers who used vouchers, credits or loyalty points would be determined later as part of the bankruptcy process.
Meanwhile, some 17,000 Spirit workers are now without jobs, including 5,500 flight attendants.
One of five budget airlines in the U.S., Spirit had struggled for years to stay profitable and twice declared bankruptcy, even as it paid its top executives millions of dollars in salaries and bonuses.
In the first two months of 2026, Spirit lost $60 million — and that was before President Donald Trump began the current conflict with Iran.
Spirit Airlines attempted to be acquired by JetBlue several years ago. But a federal judge sided with Biden-era Justice Department officials that such a combination tripped antitrust rules.
On Friday, NBC News reported that discussions between the Trump administration and Spirit Airlines to save the company were going nowhere and that the carrier could shut down on Saturday.
Earlier, Trump said the White House had given Spirit Airlines “a final proposal” for a federal bailout to save it. But Trump also warned that he was reluctant to risk taxpayer funds on a business that has already been through two bankruptcies.
