US carrier Spirit Airlines, which is often labelled pocket-friendly, has said that all of its flights have been cancelled as it started an “orderly wind-down of operations.” The development has been seen as a consequence of a potential White House bailout falling through.
“Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc., parent company of Spirit Airlines … today regretfully announced that the Company has started an orderly wind-down of operations, effective immediately. All Spirit flights have been cancelled, and Spirit Guests should not go to the airport,” the airline said in a statement on Saturday.
Customers with tickets for future Spirit flights are entitled to full refunds if the airline goes out of business, US media reports confirmed. The low-cost flier would automatically process refunds for any flight that was purchased through the airline with a credit or debit card.
Following the announcement, major US carriers rolled out rescue-fare options for affected passengers.
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Spirit Airlines has become the industry's first casualty linked to the Iran war, after failing to secure creditor support for a US government bailout plan. The collapse of the first carrier due to a doubling in jet fuel prices during the two-month-old Iran war will cost thousands of jobs.
Spirit had reached a deal with its lenders that would have helped it emerge from its second bankruptcy by late spring or early summer. However, those plans derailed after the war triggered a spike in jet fuel prices, upending Spirit's cost projections and complicating its bankruptcy exit.
It is a blow to President Donald Trump, who had proposed $500 million to save Spirit despite opposition from some of his closest advisers and many Republicans in Congress. No US carrier of Spirit's size—it accounted for 5% of US flights at one point—has liquidated in two decades. Spirit helped keep fares lower in markets where it competed against major carriers.
