Spirit Airlines is pulling out of two major cities and slashing dozens of routes as it works to cut costs and simplify its operations amid financial woes.

On Oct. 31, the budget carrier will end service from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and Hartford’s Bradley International Airport (BDL), executives revealed Friday in a note to staff viewed by TPG.

And, starting in November the airline will suspend service on around 40 routes — about a quarter of its network.

Those cuts that had been expected after the company in August entered chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring for the second time in less than a year, and faced an immediate need to cut costs as concerns swirl about its financial outlook.

“While we previously reduced our presence at these airports, these decisions were still difficult, and we are incredibly grateful for our team members and partners at both stations,” Spirit Chief Commercial Officer Rana Ghosh wrote to employees Friday.

FAQ: Spirit Airlines’ bankruptcy and how it might affect your travel

Spirit currently operates in Hartford with nonstop service this fall to Detroit, Myrtle Beach, Nashville and Fort Lauderdale.

The carrier has a smaller network out of MSP, where it flies to Detroit and Atlanta.

The airline did not immediately share the full list of routes it planned to trim from its schedule in November.

But those cutbacks come after the airline already axed close to a dozen flights earlier this fall, before warning more cutbacks would be coming.

They also come just days afte the airline revealed it would furlough about a third of its flight attendants, reports said.

In a possible silver lining, Ghosh on Friday told the company that the carrier did not expect exit any additional airports in the near future.

It’s been a tumultuous year for Spirit, with two bankruptcy filings, significant debt and mounting concerns about the ultra-low-cost carrier’s future.

Competitors have taken notice of the airline’s shrinking flying schedule.

United Airlines and top budget competitor Frontier Airlines have both added a host of routes this month currently served by Spirit.

And, JetBlue has significantly grown its footprint at Spirit’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) home base, citing suddenly-available gate space at the busy South Florida airport.

Even prior to the cuts outlined Friday, Spirit’s total number of flights during the fourth quarter of 2025 were set to be down by more than 20% over last year, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.

In Friday’s note to staff, executives cited “necessary changes” the company had made to “best position our airline for the future.”

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A fall foliage getaway just got cheaper. 

Low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines is slashing fares as fast as the leaves fall with one-way tickets as low as $44. Best of all, the discounts are available to popular leaf peeping destinations like Rochester, New York and Boston, Massachusetts (which happens to be one of the best places to travel in October).

“There’s no better way to welcome the fall season than by scoring a great deal on flights to see autumn’s changing colors,” Rana Ghosh, the senior vice president and chief commercial officer at Spirit Airlines, said in a statement. “Travelers can trade their daily views for a getaway to scenic destinations across our network while enjoying our high-value service along the way.”

In order to take advantage of the savings, travelers will need to act fast as the sale ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sept. 24. The fares are valid for travel between Oct. 7 and Dec. 17 with several blackout dates over peak travel days, such as Thanksgiving. The sale is also not available for travel on Fridays and Sundays. 

The discounted fares are in Spirit’s “Value” category, which is the most no frills of its fare classes and doesn’t include a carry-on or checked bag or advance seat selection in the cost of a ticket.

Travel + Leisure spotted a variety of deals still available, including some below the advertised $44 promotion to prime fall foliage markets. Travelers can score one-way flights starting at just $25 from Fort Lauderdale to Boston, for example, according to a search on Spirit’s Deal Finder. 

The fall sale comes at an inflection point for Spirit Airlines. In August, the airline entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year in an effort to restructure. The carrier vowed to continue flying, but said it would scale down its presence in certain markets as part of the process.

“As we move forward, Guests can continue to rely on Spirit to provide high-value travel options and connect them with the people and places that matter most,” Spirit Airlines’ President and CEO Dave Davis said in a statement at the time, adding “We have evaluated every corner of our business and are proceeding with a comprehensive approach in which we will be far more strategic about our fleet, markets and opportunities in order to best serve our Guests, Team Members and other stakeholders.”

Spirit Airlines will end service to 11 cities in October as it begins the hard work of overhauling its route map in bankruptcy.

The Dania Beach, Fla.-based airline will end service to the following cities during the week of Oct. 2, 2025, a spokesperson confirmed:

• Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) in New Mexico
• Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) in Alabama
• Boise Airport (BOI)
• Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) in Tennessee
• Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) in South Carolina
• Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK)
• Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon
• Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
• Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
• San Diego International Airport (SAN)
• San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) in California

Spirit also suspended plans to add Middle Georgia Regional Airport (MCN) in Macon, Georgia, to its map on Oct. 16.

The cuts come days after Spirit filed for its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring in less than a year. The airline plans to shed planes, shrink its network and cut costs in the hopes of returning to profitability.

“Spirit is redesigning its network to focus its flying on key markets to provide more destinations, frequencies and enhanced connectivity in certain of its focus cities, while simultaneously reducing its presence in certain other cities,” Fred Cromer, chief financial officer of Spirit, said in a statement filed with the court on Sunday.

Robert Milton, chairman of Spirit’s board of directors, told The Wall Street Journal that the carrier plans to refocus its map on key airports, including Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) and Orlando International Airport (MCO).

The 12 airports cut from Spirit’s map in October represent 3.9% of the airline’s total seats that month, schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows.

Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) will lose the most routes with the cuts, saying goodbye to eight nonstops, schedules show. FLL will lose four routes.

Many industry analysts expect further cuts at Spirit as it “significantly,” as Cromer put it, shrinks its fleet.

The airline operated 214 Airbus A320-family aircraft when it filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 28. However, only around 157 planes are in service, Cromer said.

Passengers booked on a canceled flight would be entitled to a refund under U.S. Department of Transportation policy.

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Spirit Airlines will keep flying after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring on Friday, just five months after exiting its last restructuring.

The Dania Beach, Florida-based budget airline said in a letter to flyers that it will continue flying, and that they can continue to use all “tickets, credits and loyalty points.” All other passenger benefits, including Savers Club and credit card perks, remain available for use as well.

“It has become clear that there is much more work to be done and many more tools are available to best position Spirit for the future,” said Dave Davis, president and CEO of Spirit, in a statement Friday. “After thoroughly evaluating our options and considering recent events and the market pressures facing our industry, our Board of Directors decided that a court-supervised process is the best path forward to make the changes needed to ensure our long-term success.”

Spirit lost $186 million during the three-and-a-half months from mid-March, when it exited its last bankruptcy restructuring, through the end of June. That is normally a peak time for budget travel that includes spring break.

The airline warned investors on Aug. 11 that there was “substantial doubt as to the company’s ability to continue as a going concern within 12 months.”

Davis said Spirit plans to undergo a “comprehensive” restructuring this time. Its last bankruptcy filing in November 2024 focused primarily on the carrier’s debt.

Spirit said in a statement that comprehensive restructuring would include a route map redesign centered on key focus cities, shrinking the airline’s fleet, and reducing costs.

The airline’s five largest destinations by flights in the third quarter, based on schedules from aviation analytics firm Cirium, are:

• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
• Orlando International Airport (MCO)
• Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas
• Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport (DTW)
• Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
• Spirit’s schedule is more than a quarter smaller during the three months ending in September compared to the same period in 2024, Cirium data shows.

The carrier flew 215 Airbus A320-family planes at the end of June, its latest quarterly financial filing shows.

Other airlines are not waiting for Spirit to restructure or, in a worst-case scenario, fail. Frontier Airlines recently unveiled 20 new routes that include many in Spirit markets. And analysts believe other carriers, including JetBlue Airways, Sun Country Airlines and United Airlines, could be interested in Spirit’s gates and facilities at various airports like FLL and DTW.

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