NEW YORK — Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday as mounting losses, unaffordable debt, increased competition for bargain-hunting air passengers and an inability to merge with other airlines left it with no choice.

The video shown is from a previous report.

The airline said it would continue to operate as it restructured its debt.

“Guests can continue to book and fly without interruption and can use all tickets, credits and loyalty points as normal,” it said in a statement. statement.

Airlines and other companies in the United States frequently file for bankruptcy and come out stronger on the other side of the process. Most major U.S. airlines, including the three largest — American Airlines, United and Delta — have filed for bankruptcy at some point in the past 25 years.

But it’s also possible that Spirit (SAVE) could end up being bought by another airline or forced to liquidate. Numerous airlines, including American, have purchased their assets out of bankruptcy and merged with another airline.

Spirit has attempted two mergers in recent years, one with fellow low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines and once with JetBlue Airways, which outbid Frontier only to have the acquisition blocked by a federal judge on antitrust grounds.

(The-CNN-Wire and 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)