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In a statement, a Spirit spokesperson said the airline will shut down its ACY crew base on Sunday, Sept. 1. The closing will affect 157 pilots and flight attendants.
The move will not impact Spirit's flight schedule at ACY.
"Over the past several years, our flight schedule from Atlantic City has gradually decreased to an average of 8-10 daily departures, depending on the season," the spokesperson said. "Moreover, half of this flying is to our largest crew bases in Florida. Given the grounding of many of our aircraft due to Pratt & Whitney GTF engine availability issues and our delivery deferral agreement with Airbus, Spirit has reached the difficult decision to close our Crew Base in ACY."
The crew hub closing comes after Spirit announced on Monday, Apr. 8 that it would furlough 260 pilots starting on Sunday, Sept. 1. Spirit also said it will delay deliveries on all Airbus planes that were scheduled for the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026.
The decisions are expected to give Spirit more financial flexibility, improving the airline's liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.
"Additionally, Spirit is actively evaluating opening a new crew base in the Northeast to provide coverage from one of our larger cities, and we hope to be able to finalize a new crew base in the near future," the spokesperson said. "ACY has been a great partner of ours as we’ve served the community for over 30 years, and we look forward to continuing to serve ACY and our guests who love the convenience and affordability of our service for many years to come."
Spirit is the only commercial airline with service at ACY, offering flights to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, along with five Florida destinations: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach.
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