Spirit Airlines stops flying May 2, refunds 4,000 canceled flights
Spirit Airlines has officially stopped flying as of May 2 and is now refunding tickets for about 4,000 canceled flights through mid-May.
The airline had been losing money since 2019 and blamed soaring jet fuel prices for its closure.
Despite trying to bounce back after two bankruptcies, Spirit couldn't secure new funding, leaving a lot of travelers scrambling to make new plans.
Fuel price spike sparks political blame
Spirit's money troubles got worse after tensions between the US and Iran pushed fuel prices even higher.
The shutdown also sparked a political blame game: US Transportation official Sean Duffy pointed fingers at the Biden administration for blocking a merger with JetBlue, saying it hurt competition.
Senator Elizabeth Warren fired back, insisting rising oil prices, not blocked mergers, were the real reason Spirit folded, especially since a judge had already ruled the merger illegal.