Spirit to Eliminate 150 Jobs, End Service to Five Airports

(MILWAUKEE, PHOENIX, ROCHESTER, ST. LOUIS, BUCARAMANGA) Spirit Airlines will cut about 150 salaried jobs and leave five airports by January 2026, deepening a restructuring that will also close maintenance and warehouse operations in Baltimore and Chicago and trim nine routes across the United States and Colombia. The airline said the move will reduce its schedule by roughly 1% of seats and concentrate flying in core markets as it works to stem losses and stabilize operations.

The airports losing Spirit service are Milwaukee Mitchell International (MKE), Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX), Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International (ROC) in New York, St. Louis Lambert International (STL), and Palonegro International (BGA) near Bucaramanga, Colombia. Pulling out of these airports will end a set of routes that Spirit Airlines had used to feed traffic into its hubs in Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando, and in two cases will leave travelers without a direct alternative.

In a memo to employees, Dave Davis, Spirit CEO, said the moves are intended to reshape the network to match a smaller fleet and a narrower focus. He said the cuts are to

“better align with our smaller fleet and focus on our strongest performing markets”.
A Spirit spokesperson added that the company would try to soften the blow for those who lose their jobs, telling AirlineGeeks: “We recognize the impact these decisions have on our Team Members, and we are committed to treating all those affected with care and respect”.

The nine routes set to end show how Spirit’s retrenchment will be felt in cities where the airline had marketed low fares as a way to stimulate demand. The BGA–Fort Lauderdale (FLL) link in Colombia will end even though there is no other air service on that city pair. In upstate New York, the ROC–FLL route will also be pulled with no other carrier currently operating the nonstop. Other affected links do have alternatives: Milwaukee–Detroit (MKE–DTW) is served by Delta; Milwaukee–Las Vegas (MKE–LAS) by Southwest and Sun Country; and Milwaukee–Orlando (MKE–MCO) by Frontier, Southwest, and Sun Country. From Phoenix, the PHX–DTW route competes with American, Delta, Frontier, and Southwest, while PHX–FLL has American, JetBlue, and Southwest in the market. Rochester–Orlando (ROC–MCO) is served by Southwest. St. Louis–Fort Lauderdale (STL–FLL) has Southwest as an alternative.

Spirit Airlines said the maintenance station and warehouse closures in Baltimore, Maryland, and Chicago will take effect on January 1, 2026, aligning with the broader drawdown at the affected airports. The route eliminations at the four U.S. airports are scheduled to take effect on January 8, 2026, while the Colombia change at Bucaramanga will follow on January 18, 2026. The airline characterized the job cuts as approximately 150 salaried positions, with further “volume-based staffing adjustments” expected across maintenance and corporate teams as flying is reduced and facilities close.

The network changes come on top of a far larger hit in the cockpit. Spirit has previously warned it will furlough up to 365 pilots and downgrade 170 captains to first officers in the first quarter of 2026. Nearly 800 pilots have already been furloughed over the past year amid bankruptcy proceedings, a sign of how deeply the restructuring is rippling through the workforce. Taken together with the new corporate job cuts, the airline’s payroll reductions underscore the scale of the turnaround program.

For travelers at the five airports, the decision will mean fewer low-cost options and in some markets the loss of nonstop connections that had carved out steady followings. In Milwaukee, Spirit’s exits will remove another competitor on busy leisure routes to Florida and Nevada. In Phoenix, the airline had focused on connecting the Southwest hub to its eastern network, and the termination of flights to Detroit and Fort Lauderdale will narrow choices for budget-minded travelers, though legacy and low-cost carriers still serve those city pairs. Rochester will lose nonstop links to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, with only the Orlando route retaining a single competitor. In St. Louis, the end of flights to Fort Lauderdale leaves Southwest as the sole operator on that route. Bucaramanga, a growing city in Colombia’s northeast, will lose its direct tie to South Florida, forcing passengers to connect through Bogotá or Medellín to reach the United States.

Spirit told investors it expects to incur $804 million in losses in 2025 and is targeting a return to profitability by 2027. As part of that push, the airline has pared its map aggressively, trimming service since its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in August 2025. With the latest exits, the company has now cut flights to 18 destinations, moving capacity into markets where its ultra-low-cost model historically performs better. Executives have highlighted Detroit (DTW), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), and Orlando (MCO) as core locations where utilization and unit revenues can be improved even with a smaller fleet.

The company’s restructuring is unfolding under the protections of Chapter 11, a process that lets a business continue operating while it reorganizes its debts and contracts under court oversight. The U.S. Courts describe Chapter 11 as a tool that allows companies to

“propose a plan of reorganization to keep its business alive and pay creditors over time.”
Readers can find more background at the U.S. Courts: Chapter 11 bankruptcy basics. Spirit Airlines has said it remains in talks with potential merger partners after earlier efforts to combine with JetBlue and Frontier fell apart, and the sharper network focus is intended to make any future tie-up cleaner and more defensible.

The timing reflects both operational and financial pressures. By lining up airport exits and maintenance closures in early January 2026, the airline can reset schedules after the holiday peak, redeploy aircraft to stronger routes, and adjust staffing ahead of the slower winter months. The decision to compress the U.S. route exits into January 8, 2026, with Bucaramanga following on January 18, 2026, suggests Spirit is aiming for a quick pivot rather than a prolonged wind-down that might add costs or uncertainty for crews and customers.

Airport officials in the affected cities have not announced replacement carriers for the lost routes, but competition remains on most city pairs. In markets with alternatives, legacy and low-cost rivals are likely to watch fare dynamics closely as Spirit’s seats come out. The airline said the net impact equates to roughly a 1% reduction in available seats across its schedule, a small number in network terms but a meaningful shift for specific airports where Spirit played a larger role in price setting. In Bucaramanga and Rochester, the loss of city pairs with no other air service will test whether other carriers see enough demand to step in, particularly with aircraft and crews still tight across parts of the industry.

The ripple effects inside Spirit will be more immediate. Beyond the 150 salaried job cuts, the company flagged “volume-based staffing adjustments” across maintenance and corporate teams, a phrase that often translates to additional reductions as work ebbs in closed stations and supporting departments. For employees in Baltimore and Chicago, the shutdown of maintenance stations and warehouses means relocation or separation as the airline consolidates parts and heavy-check work elsewhere in its system. At the same time, the pilot group is set for another shakeup in 2026 with planned furloughs and captain downgrades, compounding the nearly 800 furloughs already recorded over the past year.

Davis’s memo points to a strategy anchored in a smaller but more productive fleet, flying where the airline can reliably fill seats at fares that cover rising costs. Spirit Airlines has been leaning into cities where it has scale and brand recognition—Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando—after being squeezed by engine issues earlier in the downturn, higher interest expenses, and competitive pressure on fares. Pulling down in Milwaukee, Phoenix, Rochester, St. Louis, and Bucaramanga is the latest step in that pivot.

Passengers with bookings after the exit dates will be contacted with options to rebook or receive refunds, the airline said in its notices to affected markets. While most routes being cut have alternates on other carriers, the manner in which fares settle after Spirit leaves will determine whether travelers face higher prices, especially in leisure-heavy corridors to Florida. The immediate effect at the five airports will be fewer yellow-tailed jets at gates and a reshuffling of ramp and vendor work that had supported Spirit’s daily operations.

Spirit Airlines did not announce changes to baggage policies, fees, or credit arrangements as part of Wednesday’s update. The focus stayed on network pruning, job cuts, and the calendar. Executives reiterated that the airline has now exited 18 destinations since August and remains confident that concentrating flying in its strongest markets will shorten the path back to profitability.

“We recognize the impact these decisions have on our Team Members, and we are committed to treating all those affected with care and respect,” the spokesperson said, noting the company will offer support as roles are eliminated or moved.

For now, the milestones are clear. Maintenance and warehouse closures in Baltimore and Chicago take effect on January 1, 2026. Flying at the four U.S. airports ends on January 8, 2026. Service at Palonegro International Airport in Bucaramanga ends on January 18, 2026. The airline projects $804 million in losses in 2025 and is targeting a return to profit by 2027. Whether the trimmed network, ongoing job cuts, and exit from five airports are enough to steady the balance sheet will be tested route by route as Spirit Airlines doubles down on Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando and waits to see if a merger partner emerges.