Southwest Florida International Airport didn’t see an immediate impact from the shutdown of Spirit Airlines on Saturday.
On May 2, Spirit announced “an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately.”
As a result, all flights have been canceled, and customer service is no longer available. However, there weren’t any flights scheduled for Saturday at Southwest Florida International, so none had to be canceled for the day, said Victoria Moreland, a spokeswoman for the airport, via email.
She referred any questions about any cancellations beyond Saturday to Spirit Airlines.
In an email, Rachel Chesley, a spokeswoman for Spirit, said the airline wasn’t able to comment beyond what it shared in a press release “at this time.”
How to check for refunds
Spirit customers shouldn’t head to the airport
In the press release, Spirit stated: “We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 33 years and had hoped to serve our Guests for many years to come.”
The airline said Spirit customers should “not go to the airport.”
The wind-down follows the company’s failed efforts to restructure the business, to strengthen its financial position and to create a sustainable path forward.
Spirit ran out of options to continue operations
Despite Spirit’s efforts to continue operations, the company said it could find no additional funding to keep it going amid the “recent material increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business.”
“For more than 30 years, Spirit Airlines has played a pioneering role in making travel more accessible and bringing people together while driving affordability across the industry,” said Dave Davis, Spirit’s president and CEO, in a statement. “In March 2026, we reached an agreement with our bondholders on a restructuring plan that would have allowed us to emerge as a go-forward business. However, the sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices in recent weeks ultimately has left us with no alternative but to pursue an orderly wind-down of the Company.”
He continued: “Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure. This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted.”
Some Spirit passengers will get automatic refunds
Spirit will automatically process refunds for any flights purchased through the airline itself with a credit or debit card to the original form of payment.
Passengers who booked flights via a travel agent should contact the agent directly to request a refund.
Any refunds for passengers who booked flights using any other methods, including a voucher, credit or Free Spirit points, will be determined later through the bankruptcy process.
Southwest Florida International has lost a top low-cost carrier
Spirit Airlines has been a top low-cost carrier at Southwest Florida International for decades.
In 2023, the airline celebrated 30 years at the Fort Myers airport, highlighting its long-term presence and growth in the region. At the time, it operated non-stop service to 14 destinations from Southwest Florida International, with up to 20 peak-day departures to cities in the Midwestern and Eastern United States, plus San Juan, Puerto Rico.
As of early 2024, it ranked among the top five carriers at the airport, competing with carriers such as JetBlue and Frontier for budget-conscious travelers.
From October 2025 to March 2026, Spirit represented about 3.5% of the market at Southwest Florida International, Moreland said.
Other airlines have stepped up in an effort to fill the void.
“Many airlines have special fares for Spirit customers. You can find that information online,” Moreland said.
Spirit thanked those who tried to help the business
In his statement, Spirit’s president and CEO, thanked the federal government, in particular Secretary Howard Lutnick and the U.S. Department of Commerce, for their “extraordinary efforts to try to preserve jobs and service across the country, along with the U.S. Department of Transportation for their assistance to minimize the disruption to our Guests in the days and weeks ahead.”
“Many stakeholders have stepped up for Spirit through our restructuring. We are grateful to our labor union partners, aircraft lessors, other business partners and our financial stakeholders, including Citadel, Cyrus Capital and Ares Management Corp, for working with us on tangible solutions to restructure our business,” Davis said.
He added: “Most of all, we are grateful to our relentless Spirit team for their tremendous effort during our restructuring. They have tirelessly provided a safe, affordable and award-winning option to the traveling public.”
More information on Spirit’s wind-down process can be found here: https://spiritrestructuring.com.
Laura Layden is a senior business and government reporter. Reach her by email at laura.layden@naplesnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Spirit Airlines shuts down operations, what travelers need to know in SW Florida
Reporting by Laura Layden, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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