Investing.com -- Spirit Airlines ceased operations and began an orderly wind-down on Friday, marking the first major U.S. airline to liquidate for financial reasons since Midway Airlines folded after the September 11, 2001 attacks, according to a Bank of America report.

The final flight, NK1833 from Detroit to Dallas/Fort Worth, landed shortly after midnight on Friday. The carrier had been struggling financially for an extended period before the shutdown.

Bank of America analysts said the liquidation will have minimal impact on the commercial aerospace industry, despite the inconvenience to stranded travelers and effects on Spirit employees. Most Spirit aircraft are expected to be placed at new carriers quickly.

Spirit's fleet had been reduced from approximately 230 aircraft in 2024 to roughly 125 active airframes by early 2026. The airline had planned to further reduce its fleet to 76-80 aircraft by the third quarter of 2026 as part of its bankruptcy proceedings.

The fleet consists primarily of Airbus narrowbody aircraft, including A319ceo, A320ceo, A320neo, A321ceo, and A321neo variants. At the time of Spirit's second bankruptcy filing in August 2025, the airline operated 214 aircraft with an average age of 5.5 years. About 57.5% were newer-generation neo models, while 42.5% were older ceo-family jets.

Approximately 76% of Spirit's fleet was leased, with only 24% owned by the airline. AerCap was the largest lessor, followed by SMBC Aviation Capital and Jackson Square Aviation. During bankruptcy proceedings, AerCap paid Spirit $150 million in exchange for the rejection of 27 leases and a settlement of all claims. Spirit separately moved to reject 87 additional leases across multiple lessors.

Leased aircraft will revert to their lessors, while owned aircraft become bankruptcy estate assets to be sold to other operators. The aircraft will likely require interior refurbishment and maintenance services before being placed with new carriers.