With Spirit in liquidation, here's what happens next to its planes

Spirit Airlines jets on the tarmac at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida on May 2, 2026. Giorgio Viera/AFP via hide caption toggle caption Giorgio Viera/AFP via Most of Spirit Airlines' fleet is grounded . But a few of its bright yellow planes were in the air this week — including Nomadic Flight 189 from Spirit's former hub in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to Phoenix Goodyear Airport. It wasn't carrying any passengers, just a skeleton crew ferrying the plane to Arizona for storage. When Spirit Airlines stopped flying last weekend , it left more than 90 planes at dozens of airports around the country. Spirit also has engines, spare parts, real estate, and other valuable assets that it's hoping to liquidate. Within days, Spirit's lawyers were in court asking for permission to start an "orderly wind-down of operations." This is complicated because Spirit doesn't actually own most of its planes. The majority — more than 60 planes, nearly two-thirds of its active fleet — were leased, according to court filings. And the owners want those planes back. "Everybody tries to move them as quickly as possible," said Steve Giordano , the managing partner of the Nomadic Aviation Group, which is in the business of ferrying planes across the country. He works with six of the companies that own Spirit's jets. "Some are already probably in the pipeline to be leased again. …