Aviation | The Verge

Spirit Airlines shuts down after Trump’s war on Iran doubled jet fuel prices

2026-05-02T13:54:48-04:00

Spirit Airlines planes are parked on the tarmac at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on May 02, 2026 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. | Getty Images

The ultra-low-cost air carrier Spirit Airlines shut down operations after 34 years in business and canceled all flights at 3AM ET on Saturday morning. Its website now redirects to spiritrestructuring.com, instructing fliers not to go to airports, with air traffic control records capturing controllers and pilots signing off to each other as its last flights came in for landings after the shutdown was announced.

View this post on Instagram

A statement on its website said that for people who purchased tickets directly, "Refunds for tickets purchased by credit card and debit card have been issued, and will be processed by …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Electric air taxis are finally taking flight — just not with passengers

2026-04-29T09:11:43-04:00

Joby’s electric air taxi at the Lower Manhattan helipad, April 28th, 2026. | Photo: Owen Grove / The Verge

It was the perfect day for an electric air taxi demonstration - albeit one without passengers.

On Monday, an electric aircraft from Joby Aviation took off from JFK Airport for a flight demonstrating the company's future air taxi route to Manhattan. The aircraft - egg-shaped cabin, six tilt-rotor propellers, electric motor - made its way west along the Brooklyn shore before turning north toward the city. Approximately 14 minutes after takeoff, it touched down at the heliport at West 30th Street, completing its historic journey.

You could tell it was a momentous occasion based on the number of references the assembled officials made to the …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Spirit is broken

2026-05-02T13:53:25-04:00

The bright yellow livery of Spirit Airlines may soon disappear from the skies. The country's seventh-largest airline has been in financial trouble for years: It hasn't turned a profit since 2019 and filed for bankruptcy twice in the last two years. Despite all that, its leaders predicted that the airline could exit bankruptcy and return to profitability as early as 2027. It just needed time and a little stability to do so.

That time may have run out. On Monday, April 20th, Spirit approached the government to ask for a federal bailout. The sudden rise in fuel prices caused by the war in Iran will add an estimated $360 million in unexpected c …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The TSA is broken — is privatization next?

2026-03-25T13:13:39-04:00

Travelers wait in line at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on March 23, 2026. | Bloomberg via Getty Images

KC Guidry usually gets to the airport two hours before a flight to give herself enough time to get through security. But she knew her flight on the morning of Monday, March 23, out of Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport was going to be anything but routine.

"I heard the lines were long through TikTok and through the news," she said. "The day before, I saw the wait time for the terminal I needed to leave from was 200 minutes. I saw they were not doing PreCheck or CLEAR, so I adjusted my schedule."

She arrived at the airport at 12:30AM for a 7:20AM flight and joined a security line that was already looping around Houston's Termina …

Read the full story at The Verge.

How Trump’s war on Iran stranded a million flyers — and plunged the Gulf’s favorite playground into chaos

2026-03-12T06:19:04-04:00

It was a little after 1PM on Friday, February 28th, and Samantha Lujano was about to board her flight from Dubai to Colombo, Sri Lanka, when the drone attacks began.

She had already received her boarding pass and gone through customs. Her flight was at the gate and her bags were loaded. She was simply waiting for the gate agents to open the flight for boarding. So she opened TikTok and started scrolling.

But instead of relieving her boredom, the algorithm fed her anxiety. It showed her dozens of videos of explosions that purported to be from around the Persian Gulf - including a few in Dubai itself. She knew better than to believe everyt …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Archer Aviation accuses rival Vertical Aerospace of ripping off its air taxi designs

2026-02-24T14:22:53-05:00

Look at the two air taxi designs above. Look similar? The company that designed the one on the left sure thinks so, which is why it's accusing the firm that designed the one on the right of patent infringement.

On Monday, Archer Aviation filed a complaint in the US District Court Eastern District of Texas accusing rival Vertical Aerospace of copying its "Midnight" aircraft design for its own "Valo" vehicle. Archer wants to block Vertical from using the allegedly copied designs, as well as several other patents the company claims have been infringed upon.

"Vertical has knowingly, willfully, and in reckless disregard leveraged and exploited …

Read the full story at The Verge.

El Paso flights resume after Mexican cartel drones reportedly trigger airspace closure

2026-02-11T09:37:37-05:00

The Federal Aviation Administration has lifted its temporary closure to the airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas, after originally saying that all flights in and out of the airport would be grounded for 10 days. No explanation for the closure was given, beyond a vague reference to "Special Security Reasons." CBS News reported the closure was "triggered by Mexican cartel drones breaching US airspace." The Department of Defense has reportedly disabled the drones, the news outlet said.

The closure was announced late on February 10th in a notice on the FAA website, and was expected to apply until February 20th. A second notice …

Read the full story at The Verge.

American Airlines is adding free AT&T Wi-Fi to all its planes

2026-01-06T14:18:24-05:00

American Airlines announced it would be offering free, high-speed, satellite-based Wi-Fi provided by AT&T to all of its jets this year. The installation process will start this month with the airline's narrow-body and dual-class regional planes, with the goal of having its entire fleet updated by spring 2026.

To access the free Wi-Fi, passengers will need to sign up for American's AAdvantage loyalty program. Signup is free, and once you're logged in, you can select "Free Wi-Fi" to start browsing. This is similar to United Airlines' deal with Starlink Wi-Fi, or Delta Air Lines with T-Mobile, both of which require users to sign up for the air …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Air travel chaos will linger long after the government reopens

2025-11-12T11:30:54-05:00

Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on November 7th, after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. | Photo: AFP via Getty Images

The longest government shutdown in the nation's history may soon be over. Once it is, federal museums and monuments will reopen. SNAP payments will start flowing again. And tens of thousands of essential federal employees, including air traffic controllers, will get paid for the first time since October.

But air travel won't go back to normal anytime soon.

Airport disruptions have been the most visible effect of the government shutdown since it began on October 1st. Since then, a growing proportion of air traffic controllers have taken time off rather than work at a job that doesn't pay. Staffing levels were already critical at many facil …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Thousands of flights in danger of cancellation as FAA announces major cuts

2025-11-06T08:41:19-05:00

Travelers in terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in Newark, New Jersey, US, on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025.

The government shutdown-spurred airport chaos is about to get a whole lot worse.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it will reduce flight volumes by 10 percent across 40 major airports in response, a move that could threaten 3,000 to 4,500 flights daily. The cuts will affect "high volume" markets, including in Atlanta, Dallas, New York City and Los Angeles, according to CBS. The FAA has not formally announced which airports will have their capacity cut.

"I'm not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we've had a situation where we're taking these kinds of measures," FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said a …

Read the full story at The Verge.