Florida. Spirit Airlines, the scrappy budget airline known for its irreverent marketing and deep discount fares, said Saturday it is going out of business after 34 years and will end operations immediately.

The ultra-low-cost carrier, which once operated hundreds of daily flights on its signature bright yellow planes and employed about 17,000 people, said it has “started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately.”

The airline said on its website that all flights have been canceled and customer service is no longer available. It advised customers to expect refunds but said it would not assist with rebooking travel on other airlines.

“We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come,” the company said in a statement.

The shutdown had been widely expected after Friday passed without a government bailout for the cash-strapped airline. US President Donald Trump said his administration had presented a “final proposal” for a taxpayer-funded rescue, but no deal was reached.

Trump floated the idea of a bailout last week as the airline faced a second bankruptcy process in less than two years, amid soaring jet fuel prices linked to the Iran war. About 17,000 jobs could be affected by the shutdown, according to Spirit lawyer Marshall Huebner.

Spirit has struggled financially since the COVID-19 pandemic, weighed down by rising operating costs and mounting debt. By the time it filed for Chapter 11 protection in November 2024, the airline had lost more than $2.5 billion since early 2020.

The carrier sought bankruptcy protection again in August 2025, reporting $8.1 billion in debt and $8.6 billion in assets, according to court filings.

Supporters of a rescue — including labor unions representing pilots, flight attendants and ground workers — warned that a collapse would cost thousands of jobs and reduce competition, potentially driving up airfares.

Budget-conscious and leisure travelers are likely to feel the impact most, particularly in key markets such as Las Vegas and Florida cities including Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, where Spirit had a significant presence.

The airline carried about 1.7 million domestic passengers in February, roughly 500,000 fewer than a year earlier, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Capacity has also been sharply reduced, with about half as many seats available this month compared with May 2024.

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