Spirit Airlines has announced it will cease operations. The ultra-low-cost carrier has struggled for years and filed for bankruptcy twice since 2024. Spirit had sought a bailout from the Trump administration. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines , which had been struggling for years, announced it will cease operations.

Spirit had been seeking a $500 million federal bailout from the White House. But those talks failed to yield a deal, leading the airline no choice but to stop flying "effective immediately".

"It is with great disappointment that on May 2, 2026, Spirit Airlines started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately," the airline said in a statement early Saturday. "[A]ll flights have been cancelled, and customer service is no longer available.…