Spirit Airlines ceases operations and US transportation secretary announces measures to help passengers

The US secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, has announced a series of measures to help Spirit Airlines passengers following the low-cost airline’s collapse early on Saturday after running out of cash and the failure of rescue talks with the Trump administration.Duffy said that larger US airlines, including United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest, had agreed to cap ticket prices specifically for Spirit customers who need to rebook canceled flights, subject to a Spirit flight confirmation number and proof of payment.American Airlines and Delta Air Lines would also offer reduced fares on high-volume Spirit routes, and ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant has committed to freezing fares across routes that overlap with the failed carrier. A third airline, Frontier, would offer a 50% base-fare reduction to affected travelers, it was announced.Duffy also said in a statement on X that most major US carriers will extend travel pass benefits and spare seats to Spirit pilots, flight attendants and other employees who need to return home after being stranded by the company’s collapse.Spirit once operated hundreds of daily flights on its bright yellow planes and employed about 17,000 people, but early on Saturday it announced that after 34 years in business it had “with great disappointment …