Silver Airways (3M, Fort Lauderdale International) has announced plans to drop Muscle Shoals, Greenville, MS, Hattiesburg/Laurel, Tupelo and Meridian Key from its Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson route network effective July. In a statement, the airline said the measures would allow it to strengthen its operations, increase revenue, reduce costs, and better position itself for future growth and other opportunities.
The carrier says it has provided the US Department of Transportation (DOT) with the required 90-day notice of its intent to discontinue the flights but noted that its other Atlanta flights - Macon Regional, Orlando International and Lewisburg Greenbrier Valley - would not be affected.
Silver Airways President and CEO Dave Pflieger blamed the move on tighter Federal Aviation Administration regulations governing minimum pilot hours.
“New federal regulations related to flight and duty limitations, as well as increased requirements related to new hire pilot certification, have had the unintended effect of creating a nationwide shortage of regional airline pilots. Those facts, coupled with significantly lower than expected passenger enplanements in most of our Atlanta-network cities have made it uneconomical for us to continue serving these communities,” he said.
Founded in 2011, Silver Airways operates a fleet of twenty-eight Saab 340Bs on approximately 170 daily scheduled flights to/from thirty-eight destinations in Florida, the Bahamas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio.
