Spirit Airlines collapses amid jet fuel crisis leaving passengers stranded: ‘I thought it was a hack’

Spirit Airlines, a pioneering carrier that reshaped low-cost travel in the US, collapsed suddenly on Saturday (Picture: Mike Blake/Reuters)

Panicked passengers, travel agents, and even the US government scrambled to find alternative flights for thousands of stranded flyers after Spirit Airlines’ sudden shutdown over the weekend.

The discount airline ceased operations on Saturday, in what has been described as the industry’s first casualty linked to the war on Iran.

Spirit was emerging from its second bankruptcy filing in recent years before the US and Israel attack...