With Spirit Airlines gone, Delta is taking over its gates in Atlanta

A takeover of defunct Spirit Airlines’ gates at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport by Delta Air Lines has been ratified by Atlanta City Council.

Atlanta-based Delta offered the budget carrier a $12 million one-time fee for the space, including gates C4 and C6, according to documents filed in Spirit’s bankruptcy proceedings.

Delta will take over the lease for the Spirit gates until June 30, 2031, when Spirit’s lease was set to expire.

Spirit, which was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, stopped flying and shut down in May after 34 years. It blamed rising costs, including jet fuel prices amid the Iran war.

In a statement, Delta said it “will continue working with the City of Atlanta to ensure its facilities are used in a way that best supports customers and sustains Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s position as a leading global gateway.”

Delta and its partners control more than 80% of the passenger traffic at Hartsfield-Jackson, the world’s busiest airport. Delta has over the years worked to defend its “fortress hub” against competitors.

Before its shutdown, Spirit carried less than 2% of passengers there.

Adding more gates can allow Delta to add more flights at preferred times for its operation and passengers, and can add more capacity during peak periods when aircraft that just landed are waiting for an available gate, for example.

The move by Delta is timely given that several gates at the Atlanta airport have been closed at a time during a massive ongoing project to widen Concourse D.

The construction project on Concourse D, which started a few years ago, is being done in phases into 2029. As many as eight gates at a time have closed for the construction, while the rest of the concourse remains in use. In anticipation of the project, Hartsfield-Jackson added three gates to the end of Concourse E.

But even after the Concourse D expansion project is complete, the number of gates on D will actually decrease from 40 to 34, because the gates will be designed to handle larger aircraft.

According to documents filed in Spirit’s bankruptcy proceedings, Spirit had contacted 10 airlines to gauge their interest in the leased space at Hartsfield-Jackson. Only Delta, which operates many of its regional flights from Concourse C, and one additional unnamed bidder expressed interest in the lease.

In a bidding war, Delta ended up submitting the higher offer after Spirit extended the timeline for bids. The deal was approved by the court in July. The Atlanta City Council on Monday approved a resolution on the assignment of the rest of the Spirit lease to Delta.