economy
Spirit Airlines shuts down after Trump’s war on Iran doubled jet fuel prices
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TL;DR
- Spirit Airlines ceased operations after 34 years, canceling all flights at 3 AM ET on Saturday.
- The airline's website now redirects to spiritrestructuring.com, advising passengers not to go to airports.
- The shutdown impacts approximately 17,000 jobs, including over 2,000 pilots.
- Refunds are being issued for tickets purchased directly through Spirit.
- Several other airlines are offering rescue fares and increased capacity for stranded Spirit passengers.
- Spirit cited a significant increase in oil prices and a lack of additional funding as reasons for the shutdown.
- The airline had not turned a profit since 2019 and was in its second bankruptcy filing in two years.
- Previous takeover and merger attempts by JetBlue and Frontier failed.
- Factors contributing to the shutdown include debt from new airplane leases before COVID-19, engine recalls, and a recent spike in fuel prices.