Spirit Airlines says its going out of business after 34 years and is ending operations immediately

Spirit Airlines, the infamous yellow budget airline that competed against major carriers for over three decades, turned off its engines for the final time early Saturday morning.Company officials announced that the airline, which employed more than 17,000 people, has gone out of business and ceased operations “effective immediately” after it was unable to secure enough funding from the federal government. “It is with great disappointment that on May 2, 2026, Spirit Airlines started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately,” the company wrote in a statement to its website.“To our Guests: all flights have been cancelled, 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 now defunct airline added.Spirit’s website was revamped to correspond with the announcement, showing no flight information, changing its link to SpiritStructuring.com, and advising ticketed passengers to stay home.“Spirit Guests should not go to the airport,” a warning reads.Approximately 277 Spirit flights scheduled for Saturday had been cancelled, with a majority out of Southeast, according to FlightAware.Spirit Airlines Flight 1833, one of the last flights for the company before operations were shut down, had traveled from Detroit, Mich., before landing at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport at 12:17 a.m.“It was a pleasure working with you guys, and I wish you the best,” a DFW official told the pilots of the flight, according to audio shared on Reddit.Spirit first began operations as a Michigan-based trucking company before turning to the sky and taking flight in the 1980s.

The company had become synonymous with its bright yellow planes and very cheap seating.Spirit was hanging onto hope that the Trump administration would bail out the company with a $500 million deal, but the embattled low-cost airline...