Dozens of leased Spirit Airlines planes sit in Goodyear storage following carrier’s end

Spirit Airlines is ceasing all its operations, leaving behind over 40 leased planes at a maintenance facility in Goodyear.

Jackie Carlon with Aersale, the company that owns the facility, said what’s next for the aircraft is unclear.

“Spirit was trying to find some ways to control their overhead and their expenses, so it’s hard to say where they would have ended up ultimately had Spirit gotten any sort of bailout from the government,” Carlon said.

The planes, leased to the airline by private owners, were moved to Arizona for storage in an effort to reduce costs. Carlon said the fate of those planes is now up to their owners following Spirit’s plans for liquidation.

“Those aircraft will either be rehomed, with another operator, or potentially some of them could be torn down,” Carlon said.

She says planes are often stored in Goodyear due to its ideal weather conditions and low humidity. Currently, the aircraft will remain in preservation mode.