Spirit Airlines goes out of business, halts flights at BWI and nationwide

Spirit Airlines, an impish upstart that shook the industry with its irreverent ads and deep-discount fares, announced Saturday it has gone out of business after 34 years.

The ultralow-cost airline that once operated hundreds of daily flights on its bright yellow planes and employed about 17,000 people said it had “started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately.”

Spirit Airlines was the sixth-busiest carrier at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, spokesperson Jonathan Dean said. The carrier offered up to nine daily departures to six destinations, Dean said, making up 2.6% of all flights.

BWI announced on social media that travelers should contact their booking providers or credit card companies about refunds and alternative airlines for rebooking options.

“Customers that were scheduled to fly with Spirit Airlines are advised not to travel to BWI Marshall Airport,” the statement said. “There are no Spirit Airlines staff on-site to assist travelers with refunds or rebooking.”

Just before 11 a.m. Saturday, BWI workers began shutting off the screens at the Spirit check-in area.

Airport workers said few people had come in for flights scheduled through the airline that morning, but many at the airport were taken by surprise.

Estefani Reynoso was supposed to fly on Spirit with her two daughters from Florida to meet her mother in Philadelphia. Instead, around 4 a.m., Reynoso rebooked on Frontier for about $200 more for each of them. They landed in Baltimore, where her mother said she would meet them.

Reynoso said she is “devastated” because Spirit was her go-to airline.

“They had perfect times” for her regular routes to New York and the Dominican Republic from Florida. “I was a gold member with them. I had the credit card, all the perks,” she said. “And now they’re gone.”

The Florida mom said she’d have to “shop around and see” which airline could take Spirit’s place.

The airline said on its website that all flights have been canceled and customer service is no longer available.

“We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come,” the announcement said.

The company advised customers they could expect refunds but there would be no help in booking travel on other airlines.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers issued the following statement on Spirit’s announcement:

“Today’s news is devastating for the thousands of airline workers who showed up every day and gave everything to keep Spirit Airlines in the air. Our members on the ramp did not cause this failure; corporate mismanagement and poor financial stewardship did. Our members deserve answers and support,” the statement read.

The IAM is activating its employee assistance program to provide confidential support and resources for ramp workers and their families.

“We call on Spirit’s leadership and the bankruptcy court to ensure that every worker receives the full severance, back pay, and benefits they are owed. Workers should not be the last in line when a company fails,” the union statement said. The IAM will be watching closely and will hold all responsible parties accountable.”

How Spirit’s collapsed unfolded

The Trump administration had considered a government bailout for the cash-strapped business, but a deal was not reached.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said travelers booked on Spirit flights could access special prices on a group of other airlines for a limited time. He said other carriers would help Spirit pilots and flight attendants return to home. In a statement, he said travelers could check with their credit card companies or travel insurance policies about refunds.

President Donald Trump floated the idea of a bailout last week after the airline found itself in bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in less than two years with jet fuel prices soaring because of the Iran war.

As late as Friday afternoon, Trump said “we’re looking at it” and gave the budget carrier a “final proposal” for a taxpayer-funded takeover.

Spirit has struggled financially since the COVID-19 pandemic, weighed down by rising operating costs and growing debt. By the time it filed for Chapter 11 protection in November 2024, Spirit had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020.

The budget carrier sought bankruptcy protection again in August, when it reported having $8.1 billion in debts and $8.6 billion in assets, according to court filings.

Supporters of a rescue including labor unions representing Spirit’s pilots, flight attendants and ramp workers said a collapse would put thousands of people out of work and hurt consumers by reducing airline competition and increasing airfares. About 17,000 jobs could be impacted, according to Spirit lawyer Marshall Huebner.

Budget-conscious and leisure travelers will likely feel Spirit’s absence the most, especially in places where the airline has a big footprint, such as Las Vegas and the Florida cities of Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.

The carrier flew about 1.7 million domestic passengers in February, roughly half a million fewer than during the same month a year earlier, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Spirit also had sharply reduced its capacity, with about half as many seats available this month than in May 2024.

Banner reporter Clara Longo De Freitas contributed to this article.