By David Shepardson
April 24 (Reuters) – A union representing workers at Spirit Airlines said on Friday any U.S. bailout of the bankrupt low-cost carrier must protect employees.
The Trump administration has made a financing offer to help the airline exit bankruptcy that was being reviewed by its major creditors, Marshall Huebner, an outside lawyer for Spirit, said on Thursday.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents Spirit’s ramp service employees, said any bailout must require “no furloughs, no layoffs, and no shifting the burden onto the very people who keep this airline running.”
Spirit’s problems predate the Iran war, but spiking fuel prices since it began in late February have made its situation worse.
The liquidation of Spirit would eliminate more than 17,000 jobs and generate billions of dollars in claims, Huebner said.
The union cited a pandemic-era government rescue program for airlines that included limits on executive compensation and restrictions on stock buybacks and dividends.
A lawyer for some Spirit creditors said in court on Thursday they had reviewed a term sheet of the government’s offer that sources say includes $500 million in financing and a condition the government receive warrants equal to 90% of Spirit’s equity.
The senior debtor-in-possession financing would help Spirit exit its second bankruptcy restructuring since 2025.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday his administration was looking at buying the embattled airline at the “right price.” “When the price of oil goes down, we would sell it for a profit,” he told reporters at the White House.
The Florida-based budget carrier is running short on time. Huebner has said Spirit needs new financing or access to $240 million of its funds by the end of next week.
While a deal would keep Spirit afloat at a time when higher fuel prices eat into carriers’ profits, the prospect of a U.S. government-funded bailout has led to pushback from within the airline industry and among members of Trump’s Republican Party.
(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Rod Nickel)
