US Airline Avtur Costs Soar 56 Percent, Spirit Airlines Halts Operations

JAKARTA - The cost of fuel for US airlines jumped sharply in March. The bill rose 56.4 percent compared to the previous month, amid rising oil prices that are putting pressure on the aviation industry.

As reported by Anadolu Agency, Thursday, May 7, data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics or BTS under the US Department of Transportation showed that total spending on scheduled airline fuel rose to 5.06 billion US dollars in March. In February, the figure was still 3.23 billion US dollars.

Compared to March 2025, fuel spending also increased by 30.4 percent from 3.88 billion US dollars.

US airlines used 1.615 billion gallons of fuel in March. The figure was up 19.5 percent from February and slightly higher than the same period last year.

The biggest pressure comes from the price per gallon. The average cost of fuel rose to $3.13 per gallon in March, from $2.39 in February. That is, an increase of 30.9 percent in just a month.

BTS stated that the data used the prevailing price and had not been seasonally adjusted. Airline fuel costs can also be affected by hedging contracts to limit price change risk.

The increase in fuel prices immediately hit low-cost airlines. Spirit Airlines on May 2 announced that it would begin to stop operations in an orderly manner and cancel all flights.

The company said rising oil prices and other business pressures had hurt its financial prospects. Spirit also no longer had additional funding.

Spirit CEO Dave Davis said the company had actually reached a restructuring agreement with bondholders in March. The plan was originally expected to keep Spirit in operation. However, the sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices left the company with no choice but to cease operations.

The US Department of Transportation then prepared a joint step with other airlines to help Spirit ticket holders and affected employees.