Spirit Airlines Closure a Devastating Blow to More Than 2,000 Pilots, Thousands More Workers

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Capt. Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l (ALPA), issued the following statement today after Spirit Airlines ceased operations:

"The news that Spirit Airlines has ceased operations is a devastating blow to more than 2,000 ALPA pilots and thousands of other hardworking employees who dedicated their careers to this airline. Spirit’s highly trained and skilled pilots believed in the airline’s future enough to put their own livelihoods on the line, contributing tens of millions in annual concessions to help secure a path through restructuring. They did their part. They deserved better than this outcome.

"The pain of this decision will not be felt in boardrooms. It will be felt by pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, dispatchers, and ground crews, and by the families and communities that depend on them. ALPA fought at the highest levels of government to ensure that workers were the first priority in any resolution. We made clear that the human cost of liquidation was real, serious, and preventable.

"ALPA will not stop fighting for the pilots impacted by this closure. We will pursue every tool available to protect their jobs, their contracts, and their futures, and we will continue to help them navigate what comes next.”

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents more than 80,000 pilots at 42 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Visit ALPA.org or follow us on X @ALPAPilots.

CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or Media@alpa.org