Spirit to Furlough 1,800 Attendants, Cut Routes

Spirit Airlines, in Chapter 11 for the second time in under a year, is cutting capacity by roughly 25%, pulling out of about a dozen U.S. cities and shrinking its fleet to stabilize the business. As part of that retrenchment, the carrier will furlough roughly 1,800 flight attendants—about one-third of its roughly 5,200 cabin crew—effective Dec. 1, 2025, offering voluntary leaves first but preparing for involuntary furloughs if needed. The airline has already furloughed and demoted hundreds of pilots and is pressing unions for about $100 million in concessions while indicating it may seek contract changes through the bankruptcy process. Operational strain from the reductions has produced cancellations and delays that have forced passenger rebookings. Unions warn liquidation remains a possibility amid regulators having blocked the JetBlue merger, and Spirit says it will try to treat affected employees "with care and respect."