Was Spirit Airlines Black-Owned? The Rumor Behind the Viral Shutdown Question

Spirit Airlines is officially winding down, grounding all planes that were set to take flight. Spirit announced on May 2, that it had “started an orderly wind-down of operations, effective immediately,” canceled all flights, and told passengers not to go to the airport. The airline blamed a sharp rise in oil prices, pressure on the business, and a lack of new funding.

Amid the closure, an interesting rumor surfaced that suggested that the airline was Black-owned. However, that is far from the truth of the matter.

Spirit was not Black-owned. In its April 2026 SEC ownership disclosure, Spirit listed major 5 percent-plus beneficial holders as investment managers and funds, including PIMCO-managed investors, Arena Capital Advisors-managed funds, AllianceBernstein-managed accounts, Cyrus Capital-managed funds, Ares-managed funds, M&G, and Citadel-related entities.

Meanwhile, netizens are curious about Hasim Walters’ involvement with Spirit as his name is being tossed around. According to EurWeb, Hasim has been publicly trying to acquire ownership of Spirit since 2025. Hasim is the founder of The Latimer Group, a consortium that wanted to acquire Spirit and make it America’s first Black-owned commercial airline. Unfortunately, the shutdown crushed that dream before a deal could happen.

Spirit CEO Dave Davis said the airline had reached a restructuring deal with bondholders in March, but fuel prices changed the math fast. “The sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices in recent weeks ultimately has left us with no alternative but to pursue an orderly wind-down of the Company,” Davis said. “Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure. This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted.”

The shutdown hit travelers and workers overnight. According to the AP, some passengers arrived at airports on Saturday and found their flights canceled. While workers learned they were suddenly out of jobs. Spirit said its final flight landed at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and the company was working to get more than 1,300 crew members back to their home bases.

Spirit said it could not rebook travelers on other airlines, so stranded passengers had to find new flights themselves. The company said it would automatically refund tickets bought through Spirit with a credit or debit card, while people who booked through travel agents had to contact those agents directly.

For pilots and flight attendants, the shutdown was brutal. The Air Line Pilots Association said Spirit’s closure was “a devastating blow to more than 2,000 ALPA pilots and thousands of other hardworking employees.” The Spirit pilots’ union told members the company had ceased operations at 3 a.m. ET and added, “What matters most in this moment is getting everyone home.”