NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Spirit Aviation is seeking court approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to transfer two O’Hare airport gates to United Airlines for $30.2 million, according to a court filing.
In August 2025, Spirit filed for bankruptcy for a second time as it grappled with dwindling cash reserves and mounting losses. The company has already exited 14 airports and rejected leases for over 80 aircraft in an effort to shed non-core assets and preserve cash.
As part of its network optimization, Spirit determined it no longer needs all four preferential gates at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The airline previously reassigned two of those gates to American Airlines in December.
According to the filing, two major airlines submitted bids for gates G12 and G14. Spirit said United offered the highest and best combination of price and operational fit.
Spirit had approximately 32 departures from O’Hare on peak days, which have since halved, according to a November court filing.
If approved by the court in late February, Spirit said it will use the $30.2 million assignment fee to prepay term loans as defined in its debtor-in-possession credit agreement. In December, Spirit secured an additional $100 million in emergency financing to support its operations and restructuring efforts.
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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