Dozens of Spirit Airlines flights were canceled across New York-area airports Saturday morning, leaving passengers to scramble for alternatives after the budget carrier shut down all operations overnight.
Spirit canceled 34 flights for Saturday in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport and 18 at LaGuardia, where it was the sole operator at Terminal A, according to tracking by FlightAware.com. The airline also flew out of Atlantic City International Airport. All 277 of Spirit’s flights within, or in and out of the U.S. were canceled in total.
The shutdown means the region — and the nation — loses one of its cheapest flying options. Even Saturday morning, pages on Spirit’s website were still advertising one-way economy fares out of Newark as low as $36 to Charleston and $44 to Orlando, with similar deals out of LaGuardia, even though the front page of the site greeted visitors with a blunt message: “Spirit Guests should not go to the airport.”
The airline said in a press release that it had no choice but to shut down after a sudden spike in fuel prices overwhelmed its restructuring efforts. It was a sudden reversal. In March, Spirit had reached an agreement with bondholders that executives believed would allow the airline to continue, the company said. But fuel prices proved insurmountable, and the airline failed to secure a $500 billion bailout from the White House.
“Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure,” Spirit President and CEO Dave Davis said in a statement. “This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted.”
Spirit said it will automatically refund flights purchased by credit or debit card. Those who book through a travel agent should contact that agent directly. Those who booked with a voucher, airline credit or Free Spirit points will have to wait for a bankruptcy process to proceed.
Spirit said it cannot help rebook passengers on other carriers and will not cover costs like emergency hotels or replacement flights.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a press conference at Newark airport Saturday morning that United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest would cap ticket prices for displaced Spirit customers, generally around $200 for a one-way ticket. American Airlines has also announced “rescue fairs.”
Duffy also sought to reassure those worried that Spirit’s collapse would mean higher prices going forward. The transportation secretary said American and Delta are reduced fares on high-volume Spirit routes, while Allegiant has committed to freezing prices on the routes they shared with Spirit. Frontier is also offering discounts for the next week.
The airlines, he added, are also working to help find jobs for the thousands of Spirit employees who suddenly find themselves without jobs.
The transportation secretary also blamed the Biden administration for the airline’s collapse, citing its decision to block a merger between Spirit and Jet Blue.
This story has been updated with more information.
