Spirit Airlines, an American ultra low-cost airline headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida, has announced that it has gone out of business after 34 years.

The airline that once operated hundreds of daily flights and employed about 17,000 people said it had “started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately.”

The airline said on its website that all flights have been cancelled and customer service is no longer available. 

"All Spirit flights are cancelled. Please refer to the links and FAQ below for more information about your booking and next steps. Thank you for choosing Spirit - we are grateful to all our Guests who flew with us over the past 34 years," it told its passengers.

“We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come,” Spirit’s announcement said.

"We valued our relationship with you and had hoped to work with you for many years to come. We are committed to working with our vendors through the wind-down process and will be in touch in the coming days to discuss next steps. Any outstanding claims will need to be addressed through the bankruptcy process. 

"Please be advised that you will receive direct communications from the Court regarding that process. Please refer to the links and FAQ below for additional information," the airline told its vendors.

Although Spirit had gone bankrupt twice before, the company said high oil prices, which have been rising because of the war with Iran, made it impossible to stay aloft.

The airline operated scheduled flights throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. In 2023, it was the seventh-largest passenger carrier in North America and the region’s largest ultralow-cost carrier.