The abrupt shutdown of Spirit Airlines in the early hours of Saturday morning has left tens of thousands of passengers stranded across the United States, Mexico and Latin America, and sent shockwaves through an aviation industry already buckling under the weight of soaring fuel costs. The budget carrier, which had operated for 34 years, cancelled all flights at 3 a.m. Eastern time after last-minute negotiations for a $500 million federal bailout collapsed. In a final onboard announcement, a pilot told passengers his voice breaking that the airline was ceasing operations, adding that he would remember only the good times. The scene was repeated at airports from Chicago to Cancún, where deserted check-in kiosks displayed a stark message: all flights cancelled, customer service no longer available.

Viewed from Washington, the demise of Spirit is the most visible casualty yet of a broader energy crisis triggered by the war in Iran. The price of jet fuel has roughly doubled since the conflict began, rising from around $2.24 per gallon to more than $4.50, a surge that proved fatal for an airline already weakened by two bankruptcies within a year and a failed merger. Analysts in London note that the British government has already introduced emergency measures allowing carriers to consolidate passengers onto fewer flights during the summer holidays, a sign that regulators fear contagion. In Moscow, state media framed the collapse as evidence that American economic pressure on Tehran was backfiring on domestic industries.

The human toll is immense. Some 17,000 Spirit employees learned of their fate via email in the middle of the night, one flight attendant describing how colleagues refused to believe the news until the company’s official announcement. Across Latin America, where Spirit was a key low-cost connector, passengers are scrambling for alternatives. Major US carriers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United and JetBlue have stepped in with special fares for stranded travellers, and several have said they will consider hiring former Spirit staff. Yet these are stopgap measures.

Experts in Montreal warn that Spirit may be merely the first in a long line of casualties. John Gradek, a lecturer in aviation management at McGill University, predicts that the price of oil could hit $200 a barrel by the end of May if the conflict in the Middle East does not abate and the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted. Such a scenario would place every airline with thin margins at risk, particularly low-cost operators that cannot absorb a doubling of their largest expense. Meanwhile, a remarkable grassroots campaign has emerged: a former passenger has launched “Spirit 2.0”, a crowdsourcing effort to buy the airline and relaunch it under public ownership. Whether this quixotic venture gains traction or not, it reflects a deeper anxiety that the crisis in the skies is far from over.