Several former Spirit Airlines pilots have been supporting Nomadic Aviation in relocating the defunct carrier’s planes to desert storage locations. Spirit, which abruptly ceased operations after years of financial struggles, has left planes scattered across the country, thousands of employees out of work, and passengers stranded.

A selloff of the airline’s assets will now begin. Creditors and customers will now be looking for refunds. What is common in airlines going bust is that leased aircraft are promptly returned to the lessors and either redeployed to other airlines or soldfor parts (depending on the airline’s age and versatility).

Spirit Pilots Are Now Ferrying These Aircraft To The Desert

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Managing Partner of Nomadic Aviation Group, Bob Allen, recently spoke with CBS News to discuss the process, noting that Nomadic handles private flight operations for the leasing industry, including flight ferrying, and that his company steps in during these vital times to help relocate aircraft. Nomadic will work with the local airports, while the leasing companies work with attorneys to gain access to the aircraft and authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly the aircraft.

Allen explained that the company is using Spirit pilots not only because they can pick up work straight away, but also to support them with an additional source of income in challenging times. Allen explained that over the past 40 years of flying, he has helped numerous lessors ferry aircraft following airline collapses and knows that the abrupt closure of an airline can affect people.

“When something like this happens, it feels like a death in the family, and it’s very difficult on people. We’re actually using all Spirit pilots – pilots that were immediately out of work come Saturday – we started putting them on the airplanes and having them fly for us. It helps a lot… not only putting some money in their pocket, but when you have this situation… some people need the closure. They need to feel that closure of ‘Okay, I’m on this last flight, I’m putting this airplane away, and then I’m gonna continue on into some other part of this career.’”

Supporting Lessors To Get These Bright Yellow Aircraft To Storage

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It is important to get these aircraft away from major airports as soon as possible, as the fees for parking them there can quickly add up. Given global supply chain challenges at Boeing and engine problems at Airbus, demand in the second-hand aircraft market is high.

Since Spirit’s collapse, at least 20 Spirit pilots have begun working for Nomadic to help relocate the aircraft to Goodyear Airport (GYR) and Pinal Airpark (MZJ). These pilots are being deployed to five airports across the country to help kick off this process. While the exact number of planes ferried is unclear, Simple Flying can confirm that six were ferried to Arizona on Thursday, according to Flightradar24.

Allen also extended an olive branch to any pilots looking for work in the industry through his platform, Kittyhawk, an AI-based networking app.

The End Of Budget Carrier Spirit Airlines

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At the beginning of May, Spirit Airlines, based in Dania Beach, shut down all operations, ending the carrier’s 34-year legacy in the United States. The airline had been struggling financially for most of this decade and was unable to fully recover after COVID-19 Pandemic.

The carrier, which announced on May 2 that all flights would be canceled and the airline was shutting down, left around 17,000 employees without jobs and prompted other major US carriers to step in with additional routes, frequencies, and rescue fares for those left stranded.

Spirit’s shutdown stranded 91 aircraft at 26 airports across the United States, and now those planes are being ferried one by one to the Arizona desert before they begin their next chapter wherever that may be.