Spirit Airlines, a low-cost carrier that had a 3.9 percent market share in the US, was set to shut down effective 3 a.m. Eastern on Saturday morning. The airline had been under financial pressure and was preparing to run out of cash within a matter of days. The last-ditch effort by the Obama administration to bail the airline out was thwarted, with the government becoming the carrier's largest shareholder. However, there was also a $500 million bailout from the private sector, which was killed by Democrats, including President Joe Biden's administration, who believed that maintaining Spirit as an unsustainable separate entity would increase competition and increase jobs. The Justice Department celebrated a decision to block a merger between JetBlue and Spirit in March, stating it will continue to enforce antitrust laws.