Bangkok: Spirit Airlines, a low-cost U.S. airline, ceased operations on Saturday (May 2) after facing bankruptcy and financial difficulties, leaving numerous passengers stranded at airports across the country.

According to Thai News Agency, Spirit Airlines officially ceased operations and closed down on Saturday, May 2nd, canceling all flights and closing customer service counters at airports nationwide. This left many passengers stranded at airports across the United States with no staff to assist them. The closure also resulted in over 17,000 employees, including contractors, losing their jobs immediately. Larger rival airlines like American Airlines and United Airlines have opened special channels to hire Spirit Airlines employees, while the U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking cooperation from other airlines to offer special fares to help stranded passengers.

The primary reason Spirit Airlines ceased operations was its severe and persistent financial liquidity problems since the post-COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with soaring fuel prices resulting from the conflict in Iran and the two-month-long closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It is the first airline to shut down due to the Middle East crisis. Although the Trump administration offered a $500 million bailout plan in exchange for a 90% stake, major creditors and bondholders opposed the plan, arguing that Spirit Airlines' business model was beyond recovery and demanding instead liquidation.

In the past two decades, no U.S. airline as large as Spirit Airlines, which once accounted for as much as 5 percent of its domestic flights, has ever ceased operations. Spirit Airlines, which operated for nearly 34 years, played a crucial role in keeping airfares low in a market highly competitive with other major airlines. The closure of Spirit Airlines could potentially lead to higher airfares on the routes it once served in the future.