Washington (United States) (AFP) - The American low-cost airline Spirit Airlines announced this Saturday the definitive closure of its operations and the cancellation of all its flights, after a financial aid plan by the Government of Donald Trump did not come to fruition. The company, hit by the skyrocketing fuel costs resulting from the war in the Middle East, stops operating key routes that connected the United States with more than 20 destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

First modification: 05/02/2026 - 11:21 Last modification: 05/02/2026 - 20:07

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The American low-cost airline Spirit Airlines, which served numerous destinations in Latin America, announced this Saturday that it canceled all its flights and began the "orderly closure of its operations", after the failure of a possible financial rescue by the White House.

US President Donald Trump had expressed interest in offering financial aid to save thousands of jobs at the company, which had declared bankruptcy twice in 2025.

The airline connected the United States, especially the state of Florida, with more than 20 destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

In a statement, parent Spirit Aviation Holdings announced "with regret that the company has begun the orderly closure of its operations, effective immediately."

"All Spirit flights were canceled, and Spirit passengers should not go to the airport," he states in that text.

The company's website displays a message stating that "customer service is no longer available." The airline stated that it will process refunds for flights already purchased.

This company, known for its striking yellow planes, which began offering flights in 1992, established itself as a tough competitor to established airlines due to its low cost.

Its president and CEO, Dave Davis, explained that in March they had reached an agreement with creditors for a restructuring plan that "would have allowed them to re-emerge as a business for the future."

However, the dizzying increase in fuel prices since the outbreak of war in the Middle East "has left us with no alternative but to carry out a gradual closure of the company," he said in the statement.

"Maintaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not obtain. This is tremendously disappointing and is not the outcome any of us wanted," he added.

"Final proposal"

On Friday, Trump explained that they had sent a "final proposal" to rescue the airline, which in 2024 employed about 11,000 people.

"I imagine we're looking at it. If we can do it, we will, but only if it's a good deal," he told reporters at the White House.

Senior officials in his administration criticized Joe Biden's previous administration for blocking a $3.8 billion takeover bid by JetBlue, arguing it would harm consumers.

In its statement, Spirit said that there were "extensive and exhaustive efforts to restructure the business," but that the lack of additional financing left it "with no choice but to undertake this closure."

Jan Brueckner, professor emeritus of economics at the University of California, Irvine, told AFP last week that the rise in fuel prices was "the straw that broke the camel's back."

After the closure was announced, American Airlines and United Airlines, two of the American air transport giants, offered to help Spirit customers.

American said it was offering "rescue fares" on Spirit routes to "mitigate the impact on communities" and United proposed "maximum price one-way tickets from most cities the low-cost firm flies to."

The Association of Flight Attendants, a union representing about 5,000 Spirit employees, said it was in contact with other airlines to support Spirit staff.

"Each acting flight attendant will be provided with a hotel and/or a flight home," the union added. This closure is "the hardest news of our lives," he said.

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