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Spirit says most customers refunded, staff returned after shutdown

By Thomson Reuters May 3, 2026 | 2:45 PM

NEW YORK, May 3 (Reuters) – Spirit Airlines said on Sunday it had almost completed ​refunding passengers and returning ‌its crew to their home bases following its decision to cease operations over the weekend.

Spirit abruptly cancelled ‌flights ​early on ⁠Saturday morning, stranding passengers ⁠and staff around the U.S., the Caribbean and Latin America, after collapsing under financial ​pressures that included a sharp rise in fuel costs ⁠due to the ⁠Iran war.

The carrier had ​more than 4,000 domestic flights ​scheduled through May 15, according to ‌data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Most customers who booked with credit or debit cards ⁠were refunded by Saturday evening, with a small percentage still being processed, ⁠the ‌company said.

A final group ⁠of about 1,500 crew ​members ‌was rebased over the ​weekend.

Other ⁠airlines have offered discounted rescue fares for stranded passengers.

(Reporting by Sabrina Valle and Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by ​Cynthia Osterman)