Spirit Airlines planes repossessed, stored at Arizona airports following company's collapse

PHOENIX - If you see a Spirit Airlines' bright yellow plane in the sky these days, it is definitely not the airline, as the company ceased operations after rescue and bailout efforts collapsed.

In the aftermath of Spirit's collapse, the airline industry is collecting the now-former airline company's planes.

The backstory:

The airline, which found itself in bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in less than two years, announced on May 2 that it had shut down.

Spirit has struggled financially since the COVID-19 pandemic, facing rising operating costs and growing debt. The company planned a merger with JetBlue in 2023, but the Biden administration intervened and successfully blocked it, citing concerns over reducing competition and driving up air fares for consumers. By the time it filed for Chapter 11 protection in November 2024, Spirit had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020.

The budget carrier sought bankruptcy protection again in August 2025, when it reported having $8.1 billion in debts and $8.6 billion in assets, according to court filings.

Spirit was in negotiations with its creditors to exit bankruptcy as a leaner company later this year, but the surge in jet fuel costs due to the Iran war sent the airline over the edge.

Local perspective:

Driving down West Buckeye Road in Goodyear, you will see the artifacts of a bygone era: a bunch of bright yellow Airbus 320s flown to the airport by Captain Bob Allen of Nomadic Aviation Group.

"We’re contracted to pick them up at their airports that Spirit abandoned," Allen said. "We get the pilots on site there and then we get access to the airplanes."

Dig deeper:

Allen hires pilots, some who worked for Spirit Airlines but are now unemployed. In fact, that is how he got into the business two decades ago.

"I was with several airlines that failed," Allen said. "I’ve been through five different airlines where I’ve woke up the next morning and they’re telling me the doors have closed and I don’t have a job anymore and I’m trying to figure out where I’m going to make my mortgage payment and feed my kids and get healthcare."

What's next:

The planes will be repainted and re-leased, or sold to other airline companies. But the engines inside of them of what's really valuable. Some planes will be bought just for that part alone, costing around $15 million to $20 million, or about as much as the whole airplane.

"Here we go… embarking on 24 hours of flying," one pilot said. Allen and his contracted pilots have picked up planes from Atlantic City, Fort Lauderdale and Miama 25 times this month, dropping them off in not only Goodyear but Marana too.

"The reason we take them out here to Arizona is No. 1, Arizona is a dry climate," Allen said. "So airplanes that sit in wet climates, they start to deteriorate. They start developing coercion. This is a very difficult situation for not only Spirit and its airlines and it’s employees, but also for the leasing industry. So they’re trusting us to do this as efficiently as possible."