Spirit Airlines has ceased all operations, canceling every scheduled flight and stranding thousands of passengers. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed the Biden administration's opposition to its merger with JetBlue for the collapse. The shutdown follows a failed $500 million bailout attempt by the Trump administration.
Over the weekend, Spirit Airlines customers received a message in the airline’s app announcing the immediate cancellation of all flights. The low-cost carrier, which operated dozens of routes including nonstop service between cities like Dallas-Fort Worth, Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Nashville, New Orleans, and Newark, has disrupted travel for thousands. Viral videos on social media captured empty check-in counters at airports nationwide, including Orlando International Airport, as reported by users on May 2, 2026. The collapse will result in at least 15,000 job losses, according to Reuters, and the loss of service at around 30 regional airports, Bessent said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking on Sunday, attributed the shutdown to the Biden administration’s rejection of the proposed JetBlue-Spirit merger. “This is just more of the mess we inherited from the Biden administration,” Bessent said. “Thanks to @SenWarren, @PeteButtigieg, and all of their friends in the Biden Administration who backed their enthusiastic opposition to the Spirit-Jet Blue merger, dozens of regional airports will now lose service, and thousands of jobs will now be lost.” He added that the merger would have provided greater resiliency for the airline. The downfall came days after a roughly $500 million bailout effort led by the Trump administration collapsed due to disagreements with key bondholders. In March 2024, a Massachusetts district court judge blocked the JetBlue acquisition, a move celebrated by the Biden-era Justice Department. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated at the time, “The Justice Department proved in court that a merger between JetBlue and Spirit would have caused tens of millions of travelers to face higher fares and fewer choices.” Senator Elizabeth Warren praised the decision, calling it “a Biden win for flyers!” On Saturday, Warren countered recent blame, attributing Spirit’s suspension to “spiking fuel prices from Trump’s war” in the Middle East. She noted that the merger failed because a judge appointed by Ronald Reagan deemed it illegal.
