Spirit Airlines shut down abruptly Saturday, leaving thousands of travelers stranded and earning the dubious distinction of the first major casualty of the war with Iran.

The airline made flying less costly for those with smaller budgets and cornered about 5 percent of the market. An airline of that size has not shut down in two decades.

In recent years, the airline struggled financially, but the spike in gas prices, doubling its fuel costs, forced its closure. As travelers were stuck in airports, other major airlines stepped in to offer discounts to those stranded and free seats to Spirit employees.

The collapse of the airline will cost about 2,000 jobs and is a blow to President Donald Trump, who had proposed but failed to procure $500 million to save the flailing airline. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed former President Joe Biden for preventing the merger of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, which would have saved the airline.