Ashley Owens expected Saturday to be stressful. After all, she was the bridesmaid at her friend’s wedding in Las Vegas that night.
But when she woke up Saturday, she found that her Spirit Airlines flight home Sunday to Texas had been canceled because the company had closed permanently.
Mrs. Owens and the other members of the bridal party suddenly had to make new plans. They were almost late for their wedding hair and makeup appointments because they were figuring out how to get new flights.
“We were struggling,” she said. “It’s crazy.”
Ms. Owens and three other members of the bridal party took a 1 a.m. flight to Dallas on Frontier Airlines. Other alternatives were too expensive or had extremely long layovers, she said.
Due to the Spirit flight being canceled and having to make other travel arrangements, Ms Owens said she would have to leave the wedding early.
“I’m the maid of honor and I have to say, ‘Sorry guys, I have to leave. Congratulations,'” Ms. Owens said.
Ms. Owens was among many Spirit Airlines travelers who found themselves stranded Saturday morning after the airline permanently ceased operations early in the morning.
In a statement shortly after 2 a.m., Spirit said it had canceled all flights and asked passengers not to travel to the airport.
On the airline’s homepage, a bright yellow banner declared that the airline was “ending all operations.”
The budget airline has lost billions of dollars in recent years as it faces intense competition at its most important airports – which include Las Vegas, Florida and New York – as well as rising labor costs and aircraft maintenance needs.
The airline, which prided itself on being a no-frills option, had filed for bankruptcy in 2024 and 2025.
The company hoped to emerge as a new, smaller operation this summer, but those plans collapsed with the dramatic rise in jet fuel prices in recent weeks as a result of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Kevin Cuba, 27, of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, arrived Saturday morning at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida, where a law enforcement officer told him his flight had been canceled.
Mr. Cuba and his wife had come to the United States for a two-week vacation.
“We were expecting to go back today,” Mr. Cuba said. Instead, they will spend five extra days in Florida and $1,200 on a round-trip flight, he said.
Some airlines have offered discounted “relief fares” to travelers affected by Spirit’s closure.
Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines have all capped ticket prices for Spirit passengers who need to rebook, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Saturday. Other airlines were offering $99 flights or discounts.
Avianca, which flies to many destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America, said Saturday it would offer stranded Spirit passengers round-trip flights to their original destination at no cost, subject to availability and other conditions, for travel through May 16. Passengers will still have to pay taxes and other fees.
Spirit said it safely transported more than 50,000 passengers on Friday.
Oslayda Johnson, 34, of Manchester, Connecticut, was on one of the last Spirit flights to the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, airport after a vacation in Jamaica.
Ms Johnson said the plane’s toilets had no water, there was no ice for drinks and the Wi-Fi available for purchase did not work.
She didn’t know the last part of her trip had been canceled until she saw it on the news.
Spirit said it will automatically refund tickets purchased by credit or debit card. Ms Johnson said she received a partial refund from Spirit and was asked to resolve any refund disputes with her bank.
“Even if they return to business, never again,” she said.
In Las Vegas, Ms. Owens said her group booked through Priceline and that Spirit Airlines did not help refund reservations made through a third-party site. Contacting Priceline is on her to-do list, after walking down the aisle for her friend.
She had one more complaint about Spirit: why did she announce that she was shutting down operations after midnight?
“I just don’t understand,” Ms. Owens said. “Why not turn it off the night before instead of while everyone is sleeping?”
David Minsky reports contributed.
