Trump made 'significant effort' to avoid Spirit Airlines shutdown

Updated May 2, 2026, 1:48 p.m. ETThe Trump administration made "a significant effort" to find a way to prevent Spirit Airlines' shutdown on Saturday, but couldn't pull it off, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said."There was a number of ideas being floated on how the government could step in and be helpful to Spirit Airlines," Duffy said Saturday, May 2, in a news conference at Newark Liberty International Airport. "The president was like a dog on a bone trying to figure out a way to keep Spirit afloat."Talks had been ongoing about a possible $500 million bailout for the low-cost airline. Trump was concerned about Spirit Airlines employees and its customers, Duffy said."In the end, this was a creditor issue," Duffy said. "They have the final say of whether they want to do a deal with the government, but also from the government's perspective, we oftentimes don't have a half a billion dollars laying around in a spare account that we can put into a bailout of an airline. So, there was creative thinking on how it could happen. … In the end, a deal couldn't be reached."Transportation secretary says Spirit Airlines had been in 'dire straits'Low-cost airlines had approached the