Spirit Airlines restarting only nonstop flight from Fort Lauderdale to Nicaragua

Spirit Airlines said Friday it would restart a direct daily flight to Managua, Nicaragua, from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport starting on Nov. 30.

The flight will be the only nonstop service from Fort Lauderdale airport to Nicaragua, and Spirit will be the only ultra-low cost carrier flying direct from South Florida to Nicaragua. Spirit suspended the flight to Nicaragua in March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic emerged.

Spirit said its fares will start as low as $292 round-trip, and the flights to and from Managua will have connection options to 24 U.S. cities — plus San Juan, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands — that the Miramar-based airline serves.

“We have a 15-year history serving Nicaragua and are proud to give South Florida and Managua back the affordable fares and signature service they’ve come to know when traveling between our countries,” said Camilo Martelo, Spirit’s director of international stations.

The expansion of Spirit’s Latin America network comes after the airline was at the center of a heated bidding war between Frontier Airlines and JetBlue Airways. After Spirit announced it would merge with Denver-based Frontier in February, JetBlue made a more lucrative offer and ultimately Spirit agreed in late July to be sold for $3.8 billion cash to New York-based JetBlue.

Before that sale, which would create the nation’s fifth-largest airline, can be finalized, it needs shareholder and regulatory approvals from the Department of Justice. The process could take two years. In the meantime, Spirit and JetBlue continue to operate as separate airlines.

JetBlue recently cut 12 routes from Fort Lauderdale, citing operational issues. Airlines have struggled with staffing shortages, particularly pilots.

Meanwhile, Spirit’s discount competitor Frontier said Friday it was adding a daily nonstop flight from Phoenix, Arizona, to Fort Lauderdale airport with fares starting at $59.