Spirit Ending All Flights From Milwaukee

Spirit Airlines jet. Photo from Spirit Airlines.

Spirit Airlines is ending service out of Milwaukee next year.

The Florida-based budget airline will stop flying to and from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport beginning Jan. 8, 2026 after filing for bankruptcy in August.

“As part of our efforts to better position the airline for the future, we have adjusted our 2026 schedule to better align with our smaller operating fleet and focus on our strongest performing markets,” the airline said in a statement to Urban Milwaukee.

When Spirit filed for bankruptcy, the corporation reported it owes creditors approximately $8 billion, which includes a $136 million loan from the U.S. Department of Treasury. The corporation’s debt is roughly equivalent to the company’s total assets, also approximately $8 billion.

Milwaukee Mitchell is one of four regional airports where the carrier is discontinuing regular service. Flights to Phoenix, Rochester and St. Louis are also ending in January.

“We apologize to our guests for any inconvenience and will reach out to those with affected travel plans to notify them of their options, including a refund,” the company said.

Spirit has only flown out of Milwaukee for four years. The airline started Milwaukee service in 2021 and offered nonstop flights to Los Angeles and its two largest hubs, Las Vegas and Orlando. The Milwaukee service was part of a new corporate strategy aimed at connecting flights from larger hubs to smaller, regional airports around the country.

Since then, Spirit has added flights to Detroit and Dallas from Milwaukee.

Losing Spirit will not be a major hit for commercial air traffic at Milwaukee Mitchell. It was one of the airport’s smaller carriers in terms of passengers. The carrier’s passenger traffic has been slowly coming down this year since a high point in March. But losing a carrier will reduce the airport’s revenue.

Even before losing Spirit, Milwaukee Mitchell was already revising its commercial air traffic expectations going into 2026 in response to declining passenger demand. Major carriers started adjusting their earnings projections earlier this spring in response to the same trends in demand.

The airport lowered its traffic expectations for 2025 by approximately 318,000 passengers. The traffic forecast for 2026 indicates that the airport anticipates demand to remain relatively stable, with only a 0.1% decline.