Arnold Palmer Regional Airport travelers react to Spirit Airlines potential shutdown

Travelers at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport are hoping for the best amid reports that Spirit Airlines is making plans to cease operations as soon as Saturday.

CBS News reported that negotiations over a $500 million government aid package have stalled, leading to Trump administration officials being told that the bankrupt airline will cease operations in the next 24 hours.

The Florida-based airline has been the sole carrier at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport for the last 15 years. The last Spirit flight on Friday at the airport in Westmoreland County left for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, around 6 p.m. People on the flight told KDKA they are not sure how they are getting home. 

"It's concerning because the whole family is flying to Myrtle Beach for my son's graduation, and we need to fly back," one traveler said. 

In a statement to KDKA on Friday, around 4 p.m., Moe Haas, the executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, said, "As of right now, Spirit is still flying. The Westmoreland County Airport Authority has had no additional notification from them, so it's business as usual."

Gabe Monzo, the previous executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, told KDKA last month that the airport has been making contingency plans since Spirit went into bankruptcy for the first time in 2024. The airport authority has also been working for months with a consulting group to land another budget carrier.

"I think we are ready for it," Monzo previously said. "I think we have prepared ourselves mentally for it."

If Spirit shuts down, there may be layoffs at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.