Spirit says most customers refunded, staff returned after shutdown
The carrier had more than 4,000 domestic flights scheduled to May 15
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[NEW YORK] Spirit Airlines said on Sunday (May 3) that it had almost completed refunding passengers and returning its crew to their home bases following its decision to cease operations over the weekend.
Spirit abruptly cancelled flights early on Saturday morning, stranding passengers and staff around the US, the Caribbean and Latin America, after collapsing under financial pressures that included a sharp rise in fuel costs due to the Iran war.
The carrier had more than 4,000 domestic flights scheduled to May 15, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Most customers who booked with credit or debit cards were refunded by Saturday evening, with a small percentage still being processed, the company said.
Traveller Jessica Stanton said that she had flown on Thursday to Boston, Massachusetts, from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for her college graduation. On Friday, she received an e-mail that her return trip had been cancelled.
“I haven’t received anything else. No messages about a refund. Nothing,” said Stanton. In response to a request for comment on Stanton’s case, Spirit said that refunds may take time to show in guests’ accounts.
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The airline had filed for bankruptcy twice after a proposed merger with JetBlue was blocked by the administration of former President Joe Biden in 2024.
“They were bleeding money and so this was in the works for some time. They were going to have to liquidate,” US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Sunday on ABC’s This Week.
Multiple US carriers – including Frontier, JetBlue and Southwest – introduced discount fares to help stranded passengers and plans for new summer routes. Airlines such as Delta and American Airlines were also offering temporarily lower fares to Spirit passengers.
A final group of about 1,500 crew members was re-based over the weekend. REUTERS
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