Spirit Airlines has stopped flying. Here's what happens next

A traveler walks past covered Spirit Airlines kiosks, Saturday, May 2, 2026, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, in Houston. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

Lawyers for Spirit Airlines returned to a U.S. bankruptcy court in New York on Tuesday to seek approval for dismantling the once-busy budget carrier and turning its parts into cash for creditors.

The liquidation marks a dramatic turn for Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2025 hoping to escape financial ruin. The airline’s parent company was attempting to restructure the business for the second time since November 2024 when it abruptly stopped operating flights over the weekend.

Since the going-out-of-business announcement early Saturday, lawyers filed a series of court motions laying out a rapid wind-down plan centered on selling off every possible Spirit asset, from airplanes and engines to spare parts — and limiting additional payroll, leasing and other costs.

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The shutdown itself was tightly choreographed. The company, Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc., said it made its announcement in the middle of the night to ensure the jetliners making their final runs for the airline were safely on the ground and their crews accounted for.

Three days later, the sense of urgency carried into U.S. Bankruptcy Court, where the company’s lawyers were asking a judge to move quicky. They asked for expedited approval of the proposed wind-down plan, arguing that speed would benefit Spirit’s creditors and customers.

“Any delay will cause chaos, confusion and cost the estate significant time and money,” one motion stated, noting the airline was “not generating any revenue.”

Spirit attorney Marshall Huebner said during a Tuesday court hearing that rising jet fuel costs since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran “engulfed Spirit entirely.”

The airline’s fuel expenses grew by oughly $100 million “in March and April alone,” and rapidly drained Spirit’s liquidity and derailed its restructuring efforts," Huebner said.

He apologized directly to Spirit’s employees and customers, especially passengers who he said may now be completely “priced out” of certain routes without the ultra low-cost carrier.

Huebner described a swift effort by other airlines and other segments of the aviation industry to assist Spirit’s employees and customers once the airline’s end looked inevitable.

“The entire industry sprang into action to get our people home,” Huebner said. Spirit employed about 17,000 people and carried about 50,000 passengers on its final day of operations. The final flight, which traveled from Detroit to Dallas, landed after midnight Saturday.

With its planes grounded, Spirit said it planned to keep a skeleton crew of about 150 employees initially, eventually shrinking to roughly 40. The group, largely made up of veteran staff and executives, including some “senior management employees,” will be responsible for securing aircraft, coordinating logistics and overseeing the liquidation process.

The company also was seeking Judge Sean Lane’s approval to provide retention incentives to keep those workers in place through the liquidation.

In the last two weeks, Spirit was in discussions with the Trump administration about a hoped-for rescue deal that fell through, eliminating what the company described as its last viable path forward. Of the potential bailout, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday, “We oftentimes don’t have half a billion dollars laying around.”

Duffy said other U.S. airlines, including United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest, were offering $200 one-way fares for a limited time to travelers holding Spirit confirmation numbers and proof of purchase.

Airlines also stepped in to assist stranded Spirit crew members, he said, with some offering a preferential hiring process for former Spirit employees looking for work.

Rio Yamat, The Associated Press