Spirit Airlines Closure Demands Quick Response From Trump Transportation Sec

Transport Minister Sean Duffy announced a number of relief measures for Spirit Airlines customers and employees on Saturday.

The four major U.S. airlines — United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest — are “all capping ticket prices specifically for Spirit customers who now need to rebook canceled flights,” Duffy said in a Saturday post on

“I would recommend that if you have a ticket with spice that you try to book with these airlines as soon as possible, these deals won’t stay open forever,” he said.

The press conference followed Spirit’s statement early Saturday that the company would cease operations.

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Additional measures will also be taken for both customers and former Spirit employees, including a pathway for preferential job interviews at other airlines, Duffy wrote.

“There is a demand for airline workers. So even American and United have designed or created microsites for Spirit employees to potentially queue up and get preferential treatment in the interview process for the many airlines that are now hiring. Whether they are pilots, flight attendants, baggage handlers or even those who worked in the call centers, you can go to the individual websites to see what each of the individual airlines has to offer,” Duffy said.

Spirit Airlines announced the suspension of its operations early Saturday morning.

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“This morning at 3 a.m., Spirit Airlines ceased operations. That means Spirit will no longer have any planes in the air as of this morning. Additionally, their call centers are closed and they have no staff at the ticket counters. So if you have a flight scheduled on Spirit Airlines, don’t show up at the airport. There won’t be anyone here to help you,” Duffy said.

Duffy also slammed Democrats, particularly the Biden administration, for what he said was their role in destroying a failed merger between Spirit and JetBlue.

“Why are we here today?” Duffy asked. ‘There was a proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit, and Joe Biden and [Biden Transportation Secretary] Pete Buttigieg decided along with the Biden DOJ that they did not want that merger to happen.”

A Spirit Airlines aircraft undergoes operations in preparation for departure at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on February 12, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/Getty Images)

“And at the time, the Biden and Buttigieg DOJ bragged and said, when they canceled the option for this merger, that this was a win for American travelers who deserve lower prices and better choices,” Duffy continued.

“This merger should have been allowed. And this would indicate today that this is not better for travelers. This is not better for pricing. This is not better for competition. In fact, it is worse. We had an airline go under because the markets tried to merge two airlines, make them stronger and provide more competition to the American consumer,” he said.

Duffy also blamed Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., for defending the merger’s blockage.

“Elizabeth Warren was chair of the merger blocker at the time and said… this was a Biden win for flyers. So again, I think it’s important that we always keep a keen eye on when airlines want to merge. We care about prices for consumers,” Duffy said.

Additional relief measures Duffy announced included reduced fares from American and Delta on high-volume Spirit routes and price freezes on routes they shared with Spirit. Allegiant Air, a budget airline with prices similar to Spirit’s, will offer a 50% discount on base fares through May 10, Duffy announced.

Duffy did reveal that the Trump administration was exploring all options to save Spirit.

President Biden and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg at an event at the White House in Washington, DC, on Monday, November 27, 2023. (Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

“A number of ideas were put forward about how the government could intervene and assist Spirit Airlines. The president was like a dog on a bone trying to figure out a way to keep Spirit afloat,” Duffy recalled.

“Ultimately, this was a matter of creditors. Again, they have the final say on whether they want to make a deal with the government, but also from the government’s perspective, we often don’t have half a billion dollars in a reserve account that we can put into an airline bailout. So there was some creative thinking about how it could happen, those two things never came to fruition.”

Duffy also played down the wider risks to the budget aviation sector and dismissed the idea that the ongoing war in Iran played a factor in Spirit’s demise.

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“Spirit was in big trouble long before the war with Iran. They filed for bankruptcy several times. Their model didn’t work. They couldn’t get the budget healthy. So this wasn’t the impetus. The war wasn’t the impetus for Spirit,” he said.

He did refer to a recent request from other budget airlines for $2.5 billion, but said this was not necessary.

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“You’ve heard that other airlines have talked about asking for a $2.5 billion bailout. I’m in constant contact and my team is in contact with all the CEOs of the airlines. I don’t think that’s necessary at this point. They do have access to cash. If they want to go to the U.S. government, we would be a lender of last resort. If they can find dollars in the private markets, I think that’s better for them,” Duffy said.

This is a development story. Check back later for updates.