Spirit Airlines shut down: What to do now if you're a customer

Spirit Airlines is officially out of business. The budget airline carrier ceased operations on May 2, 2026 due to financial troubles. The company has now begun winding down after filing for bankruptcy twice and failing to secure a government bailout.

If you're a Spirit Airlines customer, you may be asking yourself: "I booked a flight with Spirit…what do I do now?"

Here's how to get your refund or book your flight with a different airline.

Spirit Airlines refunds

According to Spirit Airlines, anyone who booked tickets for an upcoming flight will automatically receive a refund to the credit card or debit card they used to make their purchase. 

Spirit's official website, Spirit.com, now forwards to a new URL, spiritrestructuring.com. However, existing customers can still login to their account at https://www.spirit.com/my-trips/find-trip in order to view the status of their refund.

Customers who booked a Spirit flight through a travel agent must contact their agent for a refund.

It's currently unclear how Spirit will handle any vouchers, credits, or points used to book flights.

Book a 'rescue fare' flight

Finding out that your Spirit Airlines flight home in the middle of your trip has been canceled because the company is no longer operating is certainly not a fun experience.

However, many airlines are trying to make things simple for travelers so they aren't left stranded. Airline carriers like American Airlines, Delta, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines are all offering "rescue fares" or discount flight tickets for Spirit customers.

For example, JetBlue is offering discounted $99 one-way flights for anyone with a valid itinerary through May 6. Some airlines, however, are offering these discounts only to traveling Spirit customers who show up in person at the ticket booth during their trip.

Companies like Allegiant, American Airlines, Delta, and Frontier are also temporarily offering reduced fares on routes that Spirit once flew.