Tracking every banana to its final goodbye.
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17,000 real people lost their jobs when Spirit shut down. The yellow livery was their workplace.
For the AV geeks and Spirit fans. No U.S. airline of this size has ever ceased operations this fast. 114 planes. 17,000 jobs. Gone in a weekend. Stick around.
Spirit shut down May 2, 2026 after failing to survive a second bankruptcy. What followed was an unprecedented wind-down — bright yellow jets stranded at airports across the country, lessors racing to reclaim aircraft, and a coordinated push to ferry planes to boneyards across the southwest.
This tracker syncs with ADS-B Exchange every 2 hours to follow each tail number through its final journey — stranded at a commercial airport, ferrying to the boneyard, stored in the desert awaiting its next life.
Spirit started in 1983 as a charter bus company in Macomb County, Michigan. It pivoted to air travel in the early 90s and spent years as an obscure regional carrier before discovering the ultra-low-cost model.
The bright yellow livery launched in 2014 and turned Spirit into one of the most recognizable airlines in the sky. They pioneered unbundled pricing in the U.S. — nearly free seats, charge for everything else. Millions flew who never could have afforded to before.
Spirit survived COVID, a failed merger with Frontier, a blocked acquisition by JetBlue, and Chapter 11 in November 2024. A second restructuring collapsed in early 2026. On May 2, 2026, the yellow jets went dark.
In August 2024 — just months before the end — Spirit launched "More Fly", a rebrand with teal accents and new premium options. They were trying. It wasn't enough.
Spirit's fleet is being scattered across seven storage facilities — most in the southwestern desert where dry air slows corrosion. Some are full-service boneyards. Some are commercial airports doing double duty. Here's where they're going.
Access conditions change. Stay on public roads, respect signage, and be respectful if questioned. Always check this tracker before driving out — make sure the planes you want to see are actually there.