Atlantic City: Spirit Airlines discontinues crew base locally.

AND then there was none. Spirit Airlines, one of the nation's largest air carriers, will close its Atlantic City based crew hub, as part of a larger restructuring plan, it was announced this week. The airline has been the sole operating carrier out of the local airport despite upgrades to the local facility in recent years. The airline will cease operations of its crew base on September 1. The company cited a gradual decline of flights from Atlantic City. It has been a favorite for local vacationers and travelers making low-dough flights to popular destinations like Florida, Myrtle Beach and other popular golf getaway excursions. The closure will affect 157 pilots and flight attendants according to a company spokesperson. The airline is actively evaluating opening a new crew base in the northeast to initiate coverage from a larger city. The move follows the broken-deal proposed $3.8 billion merger between Spirit and JetBlue last month. JetBlue agreed to pay Spirit $69 million to call off the deal. It wasn't enough to maintain the local based crew and the airline will now spend time reevaluating and streamlining its operations. The move, according to Spirit officials, will improve its financial position over the next two years by about $340 million. Despite the closure of the crew hub, Spirit will continue operating flights to and from Atlantic City as it has for the past 30 years.