Passengers at Pittsburgh International Airport can expect Spirit Airlines to operate normally despite the company’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, officials said.
Bryan Dietz, senior vice president for air service and commercial development at Pittsburgh International, said that Spirit’s financial situation will not have an immediate impact on its operations.
Florida-based Spirit Airlines currently operates flights out of Pittsburgh to seven destinations: Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the New York City area and several cities in Florida.
“Spirit has notified us they will continue operating normally as they are today throughout the bankruptcy process with no impact on day-to-day operations for customers,” Dietz said in a press release. “Spirit is an important partner at PIT, and we will support them throughout this process.”
Spirit started service at Pittsburgh International in 2017 and has become the airport’s fifth largest carrier, flying nearly 10% of the airport’s total passengers as of October.
Last week, Spirit filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition after working out terms with bondholders. The airline has lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 and faces looming debt payments totaling more than $1 billion in 2025 and 2026, according to The Associated Press.
Spirit assured customers across the country last week that they can book flights and use frequent-flyer points as they typically would.
The airline also operates out of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity. Officials at the Westmoreland County airport said they also expect Spirit to operate its flights there per usual. Spirit is the only commercial airline that operates out of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.
While Spirit has been a significant factor in Pittsburgh International’s growth over the years, the airport has also added several other carriers, including Allegiant Air, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Breeze Airways, Sun Country Airlines and Icelandair.
Pittsburgh International is currently served by 15 airlines, flying to 62 destinations, up from a nadir of 36 over a decade ago.
Dietz said the airport has diversified its fleet well over the last decade, and should be able withstand an airline carrier pulling out, if it comes to that.
“The air service diversification strategy our team has pursued over the last 10 years provides stability both for our airport and the region so that we are not reliant on any single carrier,” Dietz said. “PIT continually partners with all airlines to ensure its air service portfolio is maximized for the Pittsburgh market.”
Ryan Deto is a TribLive reporter covering politics, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County news. A native of California’s Bay Area, he joined the Trib in 2022 after spending more than six years covering Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh City Paper, including serving as managing editor. He can be reached at rdeto@triblive.com.