Spirit Airlines officially closed last month. The closure left its thousands jobless — and thousands of passengers stranded or scrambling to rebook flights with different airlines.
Naturally, the human toll took center focus in the aftermath of Spirit’s closure.
But has anyone wondered what happened to the planes?
A passenger from Atlanta, Georgia believes they found Spirit’s planes’ resting place. It’s at the Phoenix Goodyear Airport in Arizona.
A350 Aviation (@A350_Aviation), an account run by an aspiring pilot and plane enthusiast, posted a video of the view from a plane passing over the Phoenix area. In the frame, you can see multiple planes with Spirit Airlines’ livery.
“If you ever wondered where all the Spirit planes went, they are in the graveyard in Goodyear, AZ,” the TikToker wrote. =
As of this writing, A350 Aviation’s post has more than 477,000 views.
When Spirit Airlines ended its 34-year run last month, it had 114 Airbus A320-family planes, of which 66 were leased.
As part of the liquidation process, Spirit Airlines has to return the leased planes to their original owners. In the meantime, the now-defunct airline has worked with various companies to move the planes to centralized locations.
The planes that are at the Goodyear airport are currently being managed by AerSale, a company that sells and leases aircraft components and planes. AerSale doesn’t own the planes, however. They are being stored there temporarily, according to Arizona’s Family. The publication reported in April that there were approximately 40 aircrafts at the airport at the time.
Via email, a representative from Phoenix Goodyear Airport’s aviation department told BoardingArea, “Phoenix Goodyear Airport is well equipped for large aircraft storage because the dry desert conditions in Arizona help protect parked aircraft and offers extensive space to support large aircraft operations. Aircraft remain on site at Phoenix Goodyear Airport for different time periods whether they are here for long term storage or maintenance.”
The representative clarified that AerSale manages all contracts for aircraft storage at Phoenix Goodyear airport.
BoardingArea reached out to A350 Aviation via TikTok direct message for comment.
Viewers were curious about the Spirit Airline planes, with some guessing as to why they were there. Others, however, identified potential reasons why the planes are being kept in Arizona instead of in another location.
“Not a graveyard. lol. There in Arizona for the dry climate to prevent rust and corrosion while paper work is finalized so they can be sold, or leased again. Or if old, probably stripped for parts,” one viewer said.
“That’s not a graveyard, just storage,” another viewer added.
Another viewer said that Goodyear isn’t the only location storing planes. “not just Goodyear, there’s some in Coolidge I’m sure there’s some down in eloy too,” they added.
“Soooo sad,” another person commented.
This post has been updated with comment from Phoenix Goodyear Airport’s aviation department.
@atl_aviation RIP Spirit 🍌🪦#graveyard #spiritairlines #goodyearaz #planegraveyard #fyp ♬ original sound – RayA
