WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Bankrupt discount carrier Spirit Airlines ceased operations on Saturday, the industry’s first casualty linked to the Iran war, after failing to secure creditor support for a US government bailout plan.
The collapse of the carrier following a doubling in jet fuel prices during the two-month-old Iran war will cost thousands of jobs.
It is a blow to US President Donald Trump, who had proposed $500 million to save Spirit despite opposition from some of his closest advisers and many Republicans in Congress.
No US carrier of Spirit’s size — it accounted for 5 percent of US flights at one point — has liquidated in two decades. Spirit helped keep fares lower in markets where…