FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA — The Trump administration has been in talks to loan as much as $500 million to Spirit Airlines or to acquire the carrier, as the largest budget airline in the United States operates under bankruptcy court protection. Spirit filed for bankruptcy a second time in August 2025, having accumulated approximately $7.4 billion in debt and quickly running out of cash.

"We're thinking about doing it, helping them out, meaning bailing them out, or buying it," President Donald Trump said. He said the government could sell Spirit for a profit when oil prices come down.

"I'd love somebody to buy Spirit. It's 14,000 jobs, and maybe the federal government should help that one out," Trump said.

Spirit first filed for bankruptcy in November 2024. Earlier that year, a federal judge blocked JetBlue's $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit on antitrust grounds, stating that the merger would reduce competition among airlines and harm customers. In a statement, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the airline would be on a firmer financial footing if the Biden administration had not blocked its merger with JetBlue, and that the administration is monitoring the aviation industry's health.

A U.S. government purchase of a private airline company would be unprecedented. If the White House grants a loan, the airline would continue to operate in its reduced capacity while repaying creditors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government offered loans to major airline carriers when passenger counts temporarily plummeted.

Before downsizing its fleet as part of bankruptcy restructuring, Spirit served more than 60 destinations across the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. The carrier offers low base fares and charges additional fees for carry-on bags and seat selection. While other major U.S. airlines recovered from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spirit continued to struggle, experiencing fleet manufacturing problems and reduced demand in recent years.

If Spirit were to liquidate, it would be the first major U.S. airline to liquidate since the 2008 recession, and a shutdown would likely strand tens of thousands of passengers. Four major airlines account for three-fourths of the U.S. airline industry's market share.

"Bailing out or buying out Spirit won't solve the long-term, systemic competition and stability problems with the airline industry," said William McGee, senior fellow for aviation at the American Economic Liberties Project. "The current state of mergers, bankruptcies, bailouts and lack of competition need to be addressed by introducing sensible new forms of regulation," he said.