Spirit’s sudden shutdown leaves families scrambling for flights at FLL airport

Esteen Henry sat on the concrete with her head down. She was outside Terminal 3 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, her sleeping granddaughter at her side, trying to calm herself.

Henry had just learned her flight back home to St. Thomas had been canceled.

She wasn’t the only one blind-sided by the shutdown of Spirit Airlines early Saturday morning.

The South Florida-based carrier ceased all operations after a last-minute federal bailout failed to come through after two bankruptcy filings in a year.

READ MORE: Spirit Airlines halts flights and shuts down. Can you get a refund or rebook?

Henry, a 63-year-old taxi driver, had been in South Florida for about a week to receive medical care that she wasn’t able to get in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Henry arrived at FLL around 8 a.m. to check in for her flight, only to learn from a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy that the airline had shut down overnight. With no family, money or place to go in South Florida, the grandmother spoke with tears in her eyes, unsure how she would get back home.

Henry is in contact with her son in St. Thomas, but because Saturday is a holiday marked by the annual Carnival, the banks are closed, adding another hurdle to her travels. She is also unsure when she will receive a refund for the more than $600 that she spent on tickets.

“I feel really frustrated,” she said.

In Terminal 4 at FLL, Pierre Wonet walked up to an empty check-in counter. Wonet tried to scan his passport at a self-service kiosk for his flight to Tampa. A Miami Herald reporter told him that the airline had shut down.

Confused and unsure what to do, a BSO deputy told him his only option was to try to rebook with another airline and hope to make it in time for his daughter’s communion.

Just before Wonet entered Terminal 4, two now-former Spirit employees stopped by to check the service counter where they were scheduled to start their 4 a.m. shift but had been told around 2 a.m. not to come in.

“It is what it is,” one of them said.

Stranded passengers made their way to other airlines, trying to find a way to rebook.

Raquel Velazquez drove down to FLL with her husband from their home in Stuart to catch an 11:45 a.m. flight to Antigua, Guatemala.

When they got to the airport, they learned the flight had been canceled. They then went to JetBlue to try to rebook, but had no luck.

“Everything is full,” Velazquez said.

The couple were on their way to visit family, but their travel plans on Saturday were uncertain.

This story was originally published May 2, 2026 at 2:22 PM.