Spirit Airlines Makes Last-Minute Plea To Trump Admin For Emergency Bailout

Things aren’t looking too good for Spirit Airlines.

Spirit Airlines, known for its cheap flights and fights (we’ll get into that later), is in a major financial crisis.

The airline is facing liquidation by its creditors and has sought an emergency bailout from the White House.

CBS News reported more on Spirit Airlines’ financial demise:

Spirit Airlines has approached the Trump administration about an emergency bailout to keep the beleaguered discount carrier in business and avoid liquidation due to skyrocketing fuel prices, CBS News has learned.

“Spirit is looking for a lifeline,” a source familiar told CBS News.

Some Spirit creditors have questioned the airline’s ongoing viability and are concerned the airline will not be able to make an upcoming multimillion-dollar debt payment due to surging fuel prices, raising the possibility that the carrier could be forced into liquidation in the near future.

Spirit executives and other low-cost carriers are expected to meet with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy next week. Duffy regularly meets with and checks in with all of the discount carriers, including Frontier, Allegiant, Avelo and Spirit.

The Air Current was the first to report the news about Spirit Airlines seeking government assistance.

“Spirit is flying on financial fumes,” airline industry analyst Henry Harteveldt told CBS News Wednesday. “I would tell Spirit flyers to start looking for backup reservations just to be on the safe side.”

If enough creditors decide to pull the plug, Harteveldt said operations could cease almost immediately, or creditors could give the airline some time to wind down operations.

Spirit Airlines has slowly declined after a Federal judge in 2024 ruled the airline could not merge with JetBlue:

Breaking News: A judge blocked JetBlue’s $3.8 billion proposal to buy Spirit Airlines, agreeing with the Justice Dept. that the merger would hurt competition and harm travelers. https://t.co/Nf8GC5RMDS

— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 16, 2024

Also leading to the company’s demise is its lack of hospitality.

Take a look:

A WILD brawl broke out at a #SpiritAirlines check-in counter in Baltimore… and it was all caught on video! 😱 pic.twitter.com/vrrOlfEWdF

— TMZ (@TMZ) May 31, 2024

🚨 There’s a Time & Place for Everything—Work Isn’t One of Them! 🚨

Is this why the airline is having so many issues? Two Spirit Airlines workers get into a heated confrontation—right on the job.

💥 Professionalism out the window.

Is this part of a bigger problem?

Thoughts?… pic.twitter.com/Kh2b26ld6M

— Tony Lane 🇺🇸 (@TonyLaneNV) February 21, 2025

BREAKING: Wild brawl breaks out at Philly airport between Spirit Airlines and passengers pic.twitter.com/fzgVg8MUmq

— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) February 6, 2023

When #spiritairlines leaves you stranded in Puerto Rico with no employees in sight and holds your luggage and money hostage.

We were stuck overnight with no clothes or essentials for our 3 or 1 year olds and are still without answers and searching for flights #Spirit #useless pic.twitter.com/jzKqf9Yuhn

— Tito Arias (@2touchTito) August 2, 2021

The Associated Press reported more on Spirit’s financial downfall:

Just five months after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Spirit Airlines is warning about its future ability to stay in business.

ADVERTISEMENT

Spirit Aviation Holdings, the budget carrier’s parent company, says it has “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern over the next year — which is accounting-speak for running out of money. In a quarterly report issued Monday, Spirit pointed to “adverse market conditions” that it’s continued to face after a recent restructuring and other efforts to revive its business.

That includes weak demand for domestic leisure travel, which Spirit said persisted in the second quarter of its fiscal year — among other challenges and “uncertainties in its business operations” that the Florida company expects to continue “for at least the remainder of 2025.”

Spirit’s shares tumbled nearly 40% by midday Tuesday, with the company’s stock trading at just over $2.20 as of around 1 p.m. ET.

Known for its no-frills, low-cost flights on a fleet of bright yellow planes, Spirit has struggled to recover and compete since the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising operation costs and mounting debt eventually led the company to seek bankruptcy protection in November. By the time of that Chapter 11 filing, the airline had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020.

When Spirit emerged from bankruptcy protection in March, the company successfully restructured some of its debt obligations and secured new financing for future operations. Spirit has continued to make other cost-cutting efforts since — including plans to furlough about 270 pilots and downgrade some 140 captains to first officers in the coming months.

Have you ever flown on Spirit?

Let us know your experiences below!