Journey plans upended as Spirit Airlines shuts down, leaving passengers scrambling for different choices

CNN

(CNN) — Terminal A at LaGuardia Airport sat unusually quiet Saturday morning — no traces on the counters, no Spirit Airlines workers anyplace, only a sheet of paper taped over a cardboard signal.

“We regret to inform you that Spirit Airlines has ceased global operations,” learn the check in Terminal A, the place Spirit operated in New York City for years. “All Spirit flights have been cancelled, and customer service is no longer available.”

Above it, a departures board flickered with a string of purple notices: 9 Spirit flights sure for cities throughout Texas, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina — all marked merely, “cancelled.”

Saturday’s shutdown of Spirit — the pioneering funds airline that reshaped low-cost journey — has stranded thousands of passengers nationwide. The firm canceled all flights, halted customer support and informed vacationers to not come to the airport. Customers are being issued refunds and instructed to rebook with different airways.

Spirit’s collapse marks the first time in 25 years a serious US airline has gone out of enterprise because of monetary bother. The firm, in its second chapter, had been struggling for years and didn’t safe a last-minute rescue deal, forcing it into a right away wind-down after 34 years in operation.

Brandon Keene, a pilot who joined the corporate in 2023 and was laid off, informed CNN’s Brian Abel the one communication workers obtained was an electronic mail from the chief pilot between 6 and seven p.m. Friday, and later, one other electronic mail from Spirit’s CEO at 1:16 a.m. Saturday, stating the corporate was closing.

As of seven a.m. Saturday, a handful of passengers had been nonetheless arriving at LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal A, the place the confusion stretched from pressing household journeys to long-planned getaways as extra vacationers arrived to search out their plans unraveling in actual time.

One girl and her aged mom informed CNN they’d a flight to Charlotte for a household funeral and had not obtained notifications about their canceled flights.

Alexandra Merino, who had been planning a visit to Florida for Mother’s Day, informed CNN from outdoors of LaGuardia Airport she didn’t notice what was occurring till she arrived.

“I just got here, and the people that were standing here just said, ‘There’s no flights, Spirit went out of business,’” Merino stated, including she hadn’t checked her electronic mail and didn’t know if any discover had come in a single day. “We’re trying to get Expedia to book a new flight … Happy Mother’s Day to me.”

Nearby, one other traveler caught off guard stated he solely realized what had occurred after attending to the airport for a flight to Orlando, the place he was purported to attend his Master of Business Administration commencement ceremony.

“This is wild,” Danny Nunez informed CNN, explaining all the things appeared regular when he checked his flight the night time earlier than. At a kiosk, he was informed his flight had been canceled and to see an agent — however there have been none. “(I’ll) try to find a way to hopefully make my school ceremony this afternoon, at two,” he stated. “I’ll probably head back into the office right now and see what I can figure out.”

Emergency reduction rolls out for passengers and workers

Amid the confusion and mounting disruption, different airways are dashing to step in and fill the void.

Stacked behind a wall of digital check-in displays had been a number of information releases from different main airways – Frontier, Southwest, American and United – providing help for stranded passengers trying to rebook their journey. JetBlue Airways and Delta Air Lines are additionally providing capped ticket costs.

A mom and her son lingered simply outdoors the terminal doorways, scanning swiftly taped flyers itemizing telephone numbers for different main airways – one of many indicators of assist in an in any other case empty area.

The airways say they’re providing capped “rescue fares” — most round $200 — to assist stranded Spirit passengers rebook flights throughout the nation, whereas American and United additionally included hyperlinks to job portals for instantly unemployed Spirit staff. But within the confusion and shock of the shutdown, few vacationers appeared to note, or make use of, the affords.

In a message to flight attendants early Saturday, the Association of Flight Attendants stated, “We are delivering the hardest news of our lives that Spirit will cease operations at 3:00 AM Eastern Time on May 2, 2026.”

Flight attendants are actually being despatched dwelling or again to their bases, with flights and resorts lined, in keeping with the union.

“While the country has had a blast making Spirit the butt of the joke, we’ve built a strength together that could withstand anything that anyone throws at us. And that is no joke,” the union stated. “This has been the honor of our life to fly with all of you and we are with you now. Spirit is in our blood and that makes us family.”

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X the federal authorities is coordinating with airways to “bring relief to Spirit customers and its workforce” following the service’s collapse, outlining a mixture of capped fares, discounted rebooking choices and worker assist measures.

Duffy added main carriers are extending journey privileges for Spirit workers and creating hiring pipelines, together with devoted job portals at American and United.

“Most major U.S. carriers are extending travel pass benefits and spare jump seats to Spirit pilots, flight attendants, and other employees who need to return home,” a news release from the Department of Transportation stated. “They have also offered Spirit team members preferential employment interviews to ensure they jump the queue.”

Duffy additionally reminded prospects Spirit will situation automated refunds and suggested passengers to think about bank card chargebacks, journey insurance coverage claims, or chapter filings for extra restoration choices.

Travelers share recollections of Spirit flights as airline disappears

Travelers throughout the nation reacted with a mixture of disbelief, gratitude and disappointment as Spirit Airlines ceased operations, upending plans and marking the tip of a service that, for a lot of, had turn into a lifeline for inexpensive journey.

Southwest spokesperson Lynn Lunsford informed CNN that as of late Saturday afternoon, the airline flew greater than 20,000 stranded Spirit passengers.

Lyndee Domka informed CNN affiliate WESH she had been getting ready to go to Orlando International Airport Saturday morning for her Spirit flight again dwelling. Instead, she and her household rerouted solely, selecting to drive 17 hours from Walt Disney World to Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“We booked a car on Enterprise, and we’re just going to take the drive home,” Domka informed WESH. “It’s going to be long. We’ve done it before, so we’ll get there.”

Others mirrored on Spirit’s position of their lives past the disruption. Under the announcement of the airline’s shutdown on the Orlando International Airport’s Facebook account, one particular person described the airline as “a lifeline” throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, saying they had been capable of fly to Florida for as little as $13 a method as a entrance line employee.

“I honestly don’t know how I would’ve made it through that time without those moments to regroup,” the particular person wrote, including they might “always be grateful — and loyal — to this airline.”

Former passengers recalled deeply discounted fares and routine journeys made doable by Spirit’s low-cost mannequin. “(Orlando International Airport) to (Atlantic City International Airport) for $11.40,” one consumer wrote. “The convenience, the flexibility, the staff. I will miss that,” they wrote, whereas one other stated the airline was their “go-to” for visiting household.

Some described years of optimistic experiences, with one particular person noting Spirit had supplied “many wonderful memories.” Another referred to as it their favourite airline, praising its affordability and workers.

A flight attendant additionally mirrored emotionally on the shutdown, writing, “I’m broken … and lost. Thank you (Orlando International Airport) for being the best base EVER.”

One Spirit flight crew member delivered an emotional speech reflecting on their time with the airline on certainly one of its final flights early Saturday after touchdown in Dallas from Chicago, in keeping with Rachel Danso, the passenger who took the video, who stated it was additionally the second she realized the airline was shutting down.

“It’s funny as we sit here, I’ll speak for myself, I don’t remember any of the bad times. Just the good ones,” the crew member says whereas choked up. “So, thank you for your support over the years, and onward and upward.”

Other passengers on the flight had been unhappy after listening to the message, Danso stated.

What’s subsequent?

Business journalist and NPR “Full Disclosure” host Roben Farzad informed CNN on Saturday that whereas Spirit’s collapse is disruptive, key components of its enterprise are unlikely to take a seat idle for lengthy.

“Don’t shed too many tears for the Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia,” he stated, pointing to the worth of routes and airport slots.

“The other airlines — discount, legacy, otherwise — they’re all licking their lips right now,” he added, describing a rush to choose up property and market share via the chapter course of.

Farzad likened Spirit to “the 2006 Nissan Altima of airlines,” saying it was a no-frills expertise passengers understood got here with trade-offs.

“It’s passing you on the highway. Three out of four hubcaps are missing. The other one is taped to the tire,” he stated, noting he had lengthy been accustomed to the airline from private journey in South Florida. “It was very seat of the pants… there was a bit of a roulette element to it.”

Looking forward, Farzad stated a number of carriers are more likely to bid for items of Spirit quite than the entire firm, together with Frontier Airlines and JetBlue, each of which had beforehand explored offers. He additionally pointed to curiosity from Breeze Airways and Southwest Airlines, saying airways usually tend to purchase routes, planes and slots “in parts in bankruptcy” quite than taking up the total operation.

Despite the shutdown, Farzad stated there are indicators of resilience within the broader business, notably for staff. With airways already providing capped fares to Spirit’s stranded passengers, he stated carriers are additionally “fast-tracking employee transfers,” particularly for in-demand roles like pilots and flight attendants.

“You’re seeing capitalism really in fast action,” he stated.

This story has been up to date with extra particulars.

CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield, Maria Sole Campinoti, Pete Muntean, Chris Isidore, Emma Tucker and Taylor Galgano contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.