Silver Airways (3M, Fort Lauderdale International) and its subsidiary Seaborne Virgin Islands (San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin) filed for voluntary Chapter 11 business restructuring in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida on December 30, 2024. The airline will continue normal flight operations and hopes to emerge from the restructuring, with new capital secured, by the first quarter of 2025.

"This decision will allow us to secure additional capital and undertake a financial restructuring that will strengthen our position as a competitive airline, ultimately benefiting our valued customers," Silver Airways said in a statement.

Silver Airways said in its initial filing that it had between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors and between USD100 million and USD500 million in liabilities. The airline's largest unsecured creditors are:

  • Azorra Eagle 1 DAC, an SPV for Azorra, which owns three ATR42-600s and three ATR72-600s leased to Silver Airways - USD4.5 million;
  • the United States Internal Revenue Service (tax office) - USD2.1 million;
  • TrueNoord, which owns two ATR42-600s and one ATR72-600 - USD1.5 million;
  • Nordic Aviation Capital, which owns three ATR42-600s leased to Silver Airways - USD1.5 million;
  • StandardAero Atlantic - USD1.3 million;
  • Jetstream Aviation Capital, which owns two ATR72-600s leased to Silver Airways - USD1.1 million;
  • Broward County Aviation Department (operator of Fort Lauderdale International) - USD1.1 million; and
  • Greater Orlando Aviation Authority - USD1 million.

The airline did not share any further details of its restructuring plan. It didn't respond immediately to ch-aviation's request for comment sent after US business hours.

Silver Airways operates an all-leased fleet of eight ATR42-600s and six ATR72-600s. Its scheduled network covers routes within Florida and from Florida to the Bahamas. Silver Airways also connects San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin to various destinations in the Caribbean, while Seaborne Airlines serves the St. Croix SPB-St. Thomas SPB route in the US Virgin Islands using two floats-equipped DHC-6-300s.

Seaborne Virgin Island went through a Chapter 11 restructuring in 2018, before it was acquired by Silver Airways.