NEW YORK CITY, New York: The sudden collapse of Spirit Airlines has left thousands of pilots, flight attendants, and other employees struggling to rebuild their careers, highlighting the personal toll of the budget carrier's failure after a second bankruptcy.

Among those affected is Travis Arcamone, who was named flight attendant of the year at Spirit's Orlando base in April. Just one month later, he lost his job when the airline ceased operations in early May.

Now, after nearly nine years with the company, Arcamone is working as a car salesman while continuing to look for a path back into aviation.

Industry officials say many of Spirit's former employees face months of uncertainty before finding work. Although major airlines continue to hire, most had already finalized recruitment plans for the busy summer travel season before Spirit shut down.

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, said it could take four to five months for several hundred of Spirit's roughly 3,500 flight attendants to secure jobs at other airlines, even under the best circumstances.

The challenge extends beyond simply finding employment. Airline workers who move to a new carrier typically lose the seniority they accumulated over years of service and must start at the bottom of the pay scales, with less flexibility over schedules and work locations.

"My nearly decade of experience at Spirit might help me get a job somewhere else, but it means absolutely nothing when it comes to how good that job will be when I walk in the door," a laid-off Spirit pilot told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"I'll be a peer to someone who has never flown a jet before," said the pilot, one of about 1,800 employed by Spirit when it closed.

Former employees have also launched legal action against the company. A class-action lawsuit filed last month alleges Spirit failed to provide proper notice before layoffs and seeks 60 days of pay and benefits for approximately 17,000 workers. Spirit has until mid-July to respond. A company lawyer said the airline provided notice as soon as possible.

Major carriers have indicated a willingness to hire some displaced workers, though opportunities remain limited, particularly for flight attendants.

United Airlines said it plans to hire 1,300 pilots in 2026 and has already received 2,800 applications from former Spirit employees. Delta Air Lines said it expects to hire hundreds of pilots and flight attendants next year.

American Airlines reported receiving applications from about 2,000 former Spirit workers, while Southwest Airlines created a dedicated website to help displaced employees explore job opportunities. Frontier Airlines said it would continue hiring former Spirit staff as positions become available, while JetBlue Airways said hiring was temporarily paused.

The flight attendants' union said many airlines have reduced training classes or slowed recruitment, limiting their ability to absorb large numbers of workers quickly.

"Some of these airlines had been doing weekly classes of around 100 people per week. That has been cut back at the major airlines to 30 every other week or so," Nelson said.

Pilots may find it somewhat easier to return to the profession because airlines continue to prepare for long-term growth and future retirements. However, many still face steep reductions in pay and quality of life when starting over.

"It's a huge pay cut and a huge change from your previous quality of life," said Taylor Brown, a former Spirit pilot who left the carrier last year for a position with UPS.

UPS said it currently has all the pilots it needs.