Spirit Airlines close to a $500 million bailout from Trump administration | CNN Business

Spirit Airlines is close to getting a bailout from the federal government, an attorney for Spirit said during a bankruptcy hearing Thursday. The deal is expected to include the federal government taking a stake in the troubled airline, which had struggled to make money ever since the Covid pandemic. That could include $500 million in federal assistance, according to a source familiar with the discussions. The Spirit attorney did not disclose any of the terms of a possible deal. Spirit would also avoid becoming the first significant US airline in 25 years forced to completely halt operations because of financial problems. Jet fuel costs have roughly doubled since the start of the war in Iran, derailing Spirit’s plans to emerge from its second bankruptcy reorganization since 2024. The source told CNN a deal could be announced any day. A new bankruptcy court hearing has been tentatively set for April 30 to consider terms of the possible deal, which is designed to give the airline a chance to complete its reorganization. A shutdown would put thousands of Spirit employees out of work and leave millions of passengers with Spirit tickets scrambling to make other travel arrangements.