Spirit Airlines might be shutting it all the way down as soon as Saturday, CBS reports. According to the outlet, the airline couldn’t lock in a $500 million government lifeline, and now the clock is basically ticking.
RELATED: Donald Trump Says He’s Considering Buying Spirit Airlines
Apparently, behind the scenes, folks have been trying to work out a deal, but it’s been stuck. Bondholders weren’t feeling the terms, so everything just stalled out. And without that cash? It’s looking real tough for Spirit to stay in the air.
Now, Donald Trump has chimed in before heading out to Florida, basically saying he might step in, but only if it benefits the bigger picture.
“We’re looking at it. If we could do it, we’ll do it. But only if it’s a good deal,” Trump told reporters on Friday as he prepared to leave the White House for a trip to Florida. Although he didn’t go into specifics, he did say saving jobs is on his mind.
Trump also mentioned they already put something on the table:
“a final proposal” and would make an announcement Friday or Saturday.”
“We’re looking at Spirit and if we can help them, we will. But we have to come first,”
So yeah… help might come, but don’t count on it just yet…
So what actually went wrong?
Spirit’s been fighting for survival for a minute now. Losses been piling up, and after filing for Chapter 11 in both 2024 and 2025, things never really bounced back. On top of that, global tension, especially the Iran situation, has pushed fuel prices up, and that hits budget airlines the hardest.
Creditors are already side-eyeing the situation, basically wondering if it even makes sense to keep Spirit going. And when the money people start losing confidence? That’s when things get ugly.
There were talks before: JetBlue Airways and Frontier Airlines both tried to make moves, but nothing ever stuck. Deals fell through before and even during bankruptcy.
Now there’s even talk that Trump considered stepping in, buying Spirit with taxpayer backing, and flipping it later once oil prices chill out. Basically… airline real estate.
