Spirit Airlines, the no-frills US travel pioneer, has filed for bankruptcy protection after struggling with years of losses, failed merger attempts and heavy debt levels, the company said.

The Florida-based airline said on Monday that it had pre-arranged a deal with its bondholders to restructure its debts and raise money to help it operate during the bankruptcy process, which it expects to exit in the first quarter of 2025.

It is the first major United States-based airline to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in more than a decade, after a proposed $3.8bn merger with JetBlue Airways collapsed in January.