WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Spirit Airlines, an impish upstart that shook the industry with its irreverent ads and deep discount fares, announced Saturday that it has gone out of business after 34 years.
The ultra-low cost airline that once operated hundreds of daily flights on its bright yellow planes and employed about 17,000 people said it had “started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately.”
The airline said all flights have been cancelled and customer service is no longer available.
“We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come,” the announcement said.
Spirit’s abrupt closure — after a potential bailout from the Trump administration fell through — left thousands of customers in the lurch. The company urged customers with flight tickets not to go to the airport and said it would automatically process refunds for flights but could not reimburse incidental travel costs associated with canceled trips.
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Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
