Spirit Airlines says it has nearly finished refunding customers after shuttering

Spirit Airlines has almost finished refunding customers for flights abruptly canceled over the weekend as the company folded . The budget airline left thousands of customers and staff stranded after deciding on Saturday to pull the plug on a business that was struggling for years, before a surge in the price of jet fuel blew a new hole in its budget. Spirit had scheduled about 4,000 flights through 15 May, according to Reuters . The airline has not made a profit since 2019, according to CNBC . The company attempted unsuccessfully to restructure in recent years after two bankruptcy filings . The sharp rise in the cost of oil resulting from the US-Israeli war on Iran dealt the airline its death blow, Spirit said in a statement . “Unfortunately, despite the company’s best efforts, the recent material increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business have significantly impacted Spirit’s financial outlook,” the statement reads. “With no additional funding available to the company, Spirit had no choice but to begin this wind-down.” Transportation secretary Sean Duffy, however, cast the blame for the airline’s failure on the Joe Biden administration in comments to the media on Saturday. The justice department under Biden blocked a proposed merger that would have joined Spirit and JetBlue. “Many at the time said this was a disaster, this merger should have been allowed,” Duffy said. …