Spirit Airlines to leave five cities forever, refunds available

With the losses Spirit incurred in 2025 estimated to reach $804 million, the low-cost airline has been making desperate efforts at cost-cutting since filing for bankruptcy for the second time within nine months.

Over the last week, two senior executives overseeing budget and human resources left the company while Spirit has also confirmed that it would cut an additional 150 corporate jobs after already furloughing or downgrading over 500 pilots earlier this year.

In another aggressive shake-up of its flight network, Spirit also announced that it would permanently stop flying to four U.S. markets by 2026: Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) in New York and St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL).

Flights to these cities will be phased out by Jan. 8 while a fifth international route to Palonegro International Airport (BGA) in Colombia is also set to end on Jan. 13.

Axed flights "part of our efforts to better position the airline for the future," Spirit says

In a statement to press outlets, Spirit called the choice to cancel these flights "a difficult decision" that is "part of our efforts to better position the airline for the future."

Those who booked travel before January will be able to take their flight as usual before they are phased out while anyone who has already purchased a flight beyond that date will be contacted by the airline, Spirit said in a further statement.

Related: Spirit Airlines sees flights into this city plummet by nearly half

Anyone who booked a higher fare that allows for time modifications will be able to automatically initiate a rebooking or refund while those who booked the base fare will need to wait to be contacted or reach a Spirit representative.

Spirit says it will notify travelers "of their options, including a refund"

"We apologize to our Guests for any inconvenience and will reach out to those with affected travel plans to notify them of their options, including a refund," the Spirit statement reads. "Thank you to our partners and Guests in these communities for their support over the years."

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These cuts follow more than 40 routes to different parts of the country that Spirit announced it would cut earlier this fall. By the start of November, Spirit stopped flying to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Connecticut over similar problems of not being able to justify the cost of running airplanes amid falling traffic.

"As we work to return Spirit to profitability, we face difficult decisions about our network, our fleet, and ultimately our workforce," Spirit Chief Operating Officer John Bendoraitis wrote in the the staff memo sent out when an earlier round of job and network cuts was announced last September.

The airline also said that it intends to furlough over 1,800 flight attendants before the end of the year; while Spirit also said that it hopes to return to profitability by 2027 as its cost-cutting measures make it leaner, the airline's future looks increasingly uncertain as it continues to shed flights and staff.

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