Silver Airways has officially shut down operations on Wednesday. The airline posted an urgent advisory asking passengers with booked tickets to avoid heading to the airport, as no flights would operate. Instead, Silver advised affected travelers to seek refunds through their credit card providers or travel agencies. The announcement comes after months of financial turmoil and a failed attempt to restructure under bankruptcy protection. Silver, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, had gradually scaled back operations over the past several months. Flights from Orlando International Airport were suspended in March. A bankruptcy auction held in early June failed to attract any bidders, marking the beginning of the end for the troubled carrier.
Private equity firm pulls the plug
The final blow came when Wexford Capital, a private equity firm and Silver’s debtor-in-possession lender, acquired the airline on Wednesday but chose not to continue its flight operations. “It is with a heavy heart that I share the difficult news that… our journey at Silver Airways is coming to an end for most of us,” CEO Steven Rossum wrote in a letter to the company’s 350 remaining employees, as reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Wexford, which had injected $5.5 million in emergency funding in April, will now retain only a small team for asset management purposes. Rossum added that Seaborne Airlines — a small regional airline acquired by Silver in 2018 — will continue to operate independently.
History of Silver airways
Founded in 2011 from the ashes of Gulfstream International Airways, Silver Airways began with ambitions to revive the golden age of flying. Its fleet of 34-seat Saab 340Bplus turboprops, painted in bright pink, became a signature sight on regional routes. At its peak, the airline operated flights within Florida — including Tampa, Tallahassee, Key West, and Pensacola — and to destinations in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean. Silver also briefly served nine Cuban cities outside Havana before halting those routes in 2017 due to low demand. Despite its retro charm and regional focus, the airline struggled to remain profitable in a challenging aviation landscape. With Wednesday’s announcement, Silver Airways joins a growing list of smaller U.S. carriers unable to weather post-pandemic financial pressures.