Travelers affected by the Spirit Airlines suspension may have difficulty obtaining refunds or alternative flights.
Spirit Airlines suspends operations, canceling all flights
Spirit Airlines is closed. All flights have been canceled and customer service will be unavailable “effective immediately,” the airline announced.
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- Spirit Airlines has ceased operations due to years of financial problems.
- Affected travelers will have difficulty getting their tickets refunded or rebooking on other airlines.
- Miles in airline frequent flyer programs will likely lose all their value.
Spirit Airlines announced on May 2 that it would temporarily suspend operations due to long-standing financial difficulties and the recent rise in fuel prices.
All flights have been canceled and the airline’s customer service is no longer available.
“For more than 30 years, Spirit Airlines has been a pioneer in connecting people while making travel more accessible and promoting affordability across the industry,” Dave Davis, president and CEO of Spirit Airlines, said in a statement. “The sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices in recent weeks ultimately left us with no choice but to pursue an orderly wind down of our business. We needed hundreds of millions of dollars in additional liquidity to sustain our operations, and Spirit simply did not have it and was unable to obtain it. This is extremely disappointing and not the outcome that any of us had hoped for.”
The airline had gone through multiple bankruptcies and was unable to make ends meet. Relief measures proposed by the Trump administration failed to materialize in time to keep airlines operating.
Passengers are currently in disarray as flights are immediately canceled across the airline’s network.
Spirit was emerging from bankruptcy filing for the second time in recent years before spiraling fuel costs pushed it into a financial crisis.
“There’s a lot of talk about how small each (ultra-low-cost airline) is, but it’s a pretty big map,” William J. McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, told USA TODAY.
What happens to passengers with issued tickets?
Unfortunately, there isn’t much immediate assistance available for passengers whose flights have been canceled. By shutting down its operations, Spirit is effectively admitting that it can’t get people where they want to go.
“It is with great regret that on May 2, 2026, Spirit Airlines began an orderly wind down of our operations, effective immediately. To our customers: All flights have been canceled and customer service is no longer available,” a statement on the now-defunct airline’s website reads.
Even rebooking another flight can be difficult. Spirit released a statement on social media saying it cannot accommodate reservation changes.
“It’s a really bad situation. You could be stranded on the street. I think a lot about people who are about to go on a trip. What about people who are already on a trip?” Maggie said.
He warned that flights overall are more full than ever and that other airlines have limited capacity to accommodate stranded Spirit passengers.
Will passengers actually be able to get a refund for their tickets?
Spirit Airlines announced that refunds for tickets purchased with the card will be automatically processed to the original payment method. However, those who booked tickets through vouchers, existing credit, airline points, or other means will be adjudicated through bankruptcy court proceedings.
The airline referred customers to Epiq, a claims agency that can be contacted by email: SpiritAirlinesInfo@epiqglobal.com or by phone: (855) 952-6606 (toll-free in the U.S. and Canada) or (971) 715-2831 (international calls).
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement that travelers who booked with credit cards should consider filing a chargeback with their issuer.
The statement also said travelers should check whether their travel insurance covers “bankruptcy” or “outage of service.”
Mr Duffy warned those who choose to apply for compensation through formal bankruptcy proceedings that the process will take time and they may not receive a full refund.
What will happen to Spirit’s rewards program?
According to the airline, Free Spirit points are no longer valid.
“Given the immediate winding down of Spirit Airlines’ operations, Free Spirit Points will no longer be redeemable and there will be no tickets available for purchase. Plans for the loyalty program will be determined at a later date through the bankruptcy process,” a statement on the restructuring website said.
What will happen to Spirit branded credit cards?
McGee said it’s difficult to say exactly what will happen with a co-branded credit card issued by Bank of America because each airline’s liquidation is different.
Presumably, the card will still work for purchases, but it will no longer generate airline points or miles.
Bank of America may offer cardholders the option to convert points to another affiliate program or have future purchases with the Free Spirit credit card generate points in the bank’s own rewards ecosystem, but the bank has not yet released a statement regarding its plans.
How did we get here?
Spirit Airlines has had financial problems for years, made worse by engine problems that grounded many of its planes and the overall travel industry’s recovery after the pandemic.
The Trump administration floated the idea that the government would receive a warrant for a 90% stake in the company in exchange for $500 million, but Spirit’s existing shareholders balked and no deal was reached.
Spirit Airlines was losing ground in the U.S. market due to significant declines in passenger numbers, market share and future capacity, according to preliminary domestic data from aviation analytics firm Sirium.
In February 2026, Spirit carried approximately 1.7 million domestic passengers with a market share of 3.9%, down 24% from 5.1% in the year-ago period. Compared to February 2025, the company’s domestic passenger numbers decreased by approximately 500,000 year-on-year. Meanwhile, competitors like Southwest Airlines and American Airlines have either grown or remained flat, highlighting Spirit’s relative decline.
Spirit had only 1.65 million seats planned for May 2026, representing 1.77% of total U.S. seat capacity and far behind the largest airlines. The numbers show a 51.6% year-over-year decline in capacity, the steepest decline among major airlines tracked by Cirium, even though capacity across U.S. airlines is expected to increase slightly.
The company’s network remains concentrated in major leisure markets such as Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Las Vegas, and passenger demand is generally strong year-round, so vacation travelers are more likely to be affected by the grounding than business travelers.
This story has been updated to add new information.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and can be reached at zwichter@usatoday.com.
