What’s next for Spirit Airlines’ former headquarters and its terminal at FLL?

Spirit Airlines has pushed back deadlines for interested buyers to bid on its former headquarters and main campus in Broward County.

The company, which shut down abruptly on May 2, said firms and individuals now have until 4 p.m. July 10 to submit indications of interest in the complex. That’s an extension of more than two weeks from the earlier June 24 deadline.

This first deadline allows the lowest bids, and if accepted by the company or its debtors, would set the base for future competitive bids.

Final bids are now due July 31 at 4 p.m., 11 days later than before. If necessary, an auction will take place on Aug. 4 at the New York offices of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. The earlier date was July 22.

Spirit didn’t give a reason for the changes, first reported by The South Florida Business Journal.

Information on the new timeline comes from a court filing Spirit made on June 24 with the bankruptcy judge in New York overseeing the case.

Anyone who objects to the decisions made to award the campus to a winner has until 4 p.m. Aug. 7 to file. A court hearing would then take place on Aug. 12 to approve the sale.

Spirit abruptly shut down on May 2, and 17,000 people are now out of work. More than 2,500 employees were based at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Just two years earlier, the airline moved into its new headquarters in Dania Beach.

Spirit was important for Broward’s economy. The carrier accounted for the most passengers at FLL in 2025. As Spirit’s liquidation efforts continue, other airlines are jockeying to either occupy its space at FLL or expand from their current operations.

JetBlue, second in number of passengers at FLL, quickly added flights there, and the airline sees the airport as a hub where they can grow, the carrier’s president told the Miami Herald in a recent interview.

New space for Avianca at FLL

Colombia’s Avianca generated attention this week by saying it would move its existing flights at FLL from Terminal 1 to Terminal 4, the terminal where Spirit operated. But it didn’t mention Spirit by name in its June 25 statement, nor did Avianca appear in a recent court filing.

“No, we did not acquire gates from Spirit, nor will we be using its space in Terminal 4,” an Avianca spokesperson told the Miami Herald on Friday.

However, in the June 25 statement, Avianca noted that the change of terminals at FLL would help the airline with its future plans, including expanding in South Florida.

“Moving to Terminal 4 gives us the space and operational flexibility needed to support our growth at FLL, improve passenger flows and better serve travelers connecting between South Florida, Latin America and the rest of our network,” Avianca’s statement said.

That change will take effect on Monday, June 29, with its flight from Fort Lauderdale to Bogotá.

“Fort Lauderdale is a key market for Avianca, and this relocation reflects our continued commitment to strengthening our operation in South Florida,” the statement noted.

Avianca operates more than 400 weekly flights to and from the United States. In May, it added one more flight between Bogotá and Fort Lauderdale, giving the airline two daily flights. Sales opened May 8.

Avianca has also increased flights between Barranquilla–Miami from three weekly flights to daily service.