How Spirit Airlines Shutdown Is Affecting Long-Distance Relationships For Millennial Women

Spirit Airlines officially shut down on May 2, 2026, at approximately 3 a.m. EST. The company had been in business for 34 years, assisting customers around the world with budget-friendly rates to accommodate their traveling endeavors. In particular, long-distance couples indulged in these prices, making it easily accessible to fly to their partners. 

Unfortunately, the cessation of operations came due to failing to secure a $500m (£368m) bailout from the Trump administration, according to the BBC. Below we’ll discuss how the shutdown affects long-distance relationships for millennial women.

According to Valentina Lipskaia, Founder & Clinical Psychologist at Dzeny, affordable flights aren’t just a logistical convenience for long-distance couples. They’re a psychological lifeline. When couples can see each other regularly, they maintain what attachment researchers call “proximity reassurance” — the physical contact that keeps anxiety and relational uncertainty in check. Remove that affordability, and you’re not just changing travel plans. You’re introducing a chronic, low-grade stressor that compounds over time. 

Relationship insecurity invites speculations, potential jealousies, arguments, and anxiety. Communication is key in this instant, as physical interactions aren’t easily accessible.

Having to pay more for a flight takes the relaxation out of regularly scheduled visits. Instead of routine lounging and going with the flow, couples now feel an urgency to squeeze in activities and more to make up for time lost. Essentially, affordable flights allowed room for frequent time spent, which equated to less stress and emphasis on making each moment count.

“The long-distance couples I work with often underestimate what cheap, frequent flights do for their relationship,” said Rod Mitchell, registered psychologist and founder of Emotions Therapy Calgary. “They often don’t say this out loud, but inexpensive flights allow them to spend more “ordinary” time together. When a trip costs next-to-nothing, then there’s no need to make every second spent together extraordinary. A normal weekend, doing nothing special — that ordinary time is what brings couples closer to each other.”

Valentina states that financial stress compounds relational stress in measurable ways. Research consistently shows that financial strain is one of the top predictors of relationship dissatisfaction and conflict escalation. When couples suddenly face $200–$400 more per round trip, that’s not just a budget issue — it’s a threat to the relationship’s perceived future viability. 

In the current economic times, Spirit Airline’s abrupt closing has made traveling round-trip for millennial women quite a task. Looking upwards towards an extra $100 – $200 flight has slowed down the number of trips taken to see one’s significant other. Adding in inflation with groceries, gas, and other bills, budgeting flights for long-distance relationships has caused emotional and financial strain.

“It’s not just fewer trips — it’s that when trips do happen, they become so expensive that they have to ‘mean something, ‘ said Rod. “I’ve seen that pressure affects many more couples than the distance did. So, as we move into this new era, I’m telling couples to fight for the ordinary. Keep a cheap way to regularly be “together”, like a standing video call where you cook or watch TV at the same time. And when a trip does occur, resist turning everything into an experience. A dull day of being together means more than people realize.” 

Due to the lessening of trips that are being taken to see their partners, millennial women are finding that trips are set with the intention of being more meaningful. Utilizing technology is presumably the best route to temporarily fill the void until being in person is feasible.