WASHINGTON, May 3 -- Bankrupt discount carrier Spirit Airlines ceased operations on Saturday, the industry's first casualty linked to the Iran war, after failing to secure creditor support for a US government bailout plan. The collapse of the carrier following a doubling in jet fuel prices during the two-month-old Iran war will cost thousands of jobs. It is a blow to President Donald Trump, who had proposed $500 million to save Spirit despite opposition from some of his closest advisers and many Republicans in Congress. No US carrier of Spirit's size - it accounted for 5% of US flights at one point - has liquidated in two decades. Spirit helped keep fares lower in markets where it competed against major carriers. A Spirit board meeting had ...