This is what's happening to Spirit Airlines' 81 abandoned Airbus A320s after the airline went bankrupt

Spirit Airlines just went bust, which means that now we have to figure out what to do with dozens of Airbus A320s and Airbus A321s.

And by ‘we’ we mean the trustee who will oversee the sale of all forfeited assets.

The thing is, the airline may be gone, but these aircraft are perfectly usable.

But their fate is still uncertain.

It shouldn’t take years for these Airbus jets to fly again

Spirit Airlines was the first casualty of the ongoing fuel crisis.

Obviously, that’s not the only reason, but the situation certainly didn’t help and now we’ve got dozens of Airbus A320s that need a new owner.

Speaking to Fox 10 Phoenix, Captain Bob Allen of Nomadic Aviation Group noted that his firm was contracted to pick up these aircraft, often hiring newly unemployed Spirit pilots to do the ferry flights.

As per their annual report, Spirit Airlines had a fleet of 81 Airbus A320s and 50 A321s in total when it went bankrupt.

Some of these were leased, but some of these were owned by the company outright.

All of these aircraft are in good condition, which means they’ll eventually be leased by someone else, or sold.

All existing airworthiness permits are going to be inspected, and the FAA will want to know every little detail about each nut and bolt.

Pictured below: Spirit changed liveries four times – this was the first one they used from 1992 until 2002 – the yellow livery was only adopted in 2014 after two more changes

Crucially, this is valid today and tomorrow, but planes deteriorate quite rapidly.

So presumably, these aircraft will have to live in a limbo of bureaucracy for a while, so they’re not going to be sold immediately.

Bureaucracy is what it is, but we should point that there’s a global aircraft shortage and, with a bit of luck, some of these Airbus aircraft will fly again soon.

We don’t know, but what we do know is that the next step is certain.

They’re all going to Arizona

Some of these jets will be cleared for takeoff soon, maybe, while others will probably be sold for parts – so to speak – considering the engines alone are worth eight figures.

However, for now, all of these planes are headed to specialized facilities in Arizona.

The dry climate is essential for long-term storage, as it prevents the corrosion that occurs in more humid environments.

Lest we forget, one of the largest boneyards in the world – Davis-Monthan Air Force Base – is located in Arizona for the exact same reason.

In the middle of nowhere in the desert, the Air Force Base is home to over 3,000 aircraft, some of which are just museum relics, while others are still being maintained and gutted for parts on a regular basis.

Hopefully, some of these Spirit Airlines Airbus A320s and A321s will face a happier fate than that.