Two months after suspending passenger operations, Silverstone Air Services (Nairobi Wilson) is on the brink of collapse, the Kenyan newspaper The Star has reported. Some of its remaining fleet have been chartered out to Mogadishu-based domestic Somali carriers Salaam Air Express, Som Express Airways, and Maandeeq Air, according to the report.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) temporarily suspended the airline's Dash 8 series flights on November 12 following a series of mishaps. When the suspension was lifted, on November 19, the carrier itself halted all of its scheduled operations.
In December, Dublin-based lessor Elix Aviation Capital repossessed the Kenyan carrier's fleet of Dash 8 turboprops, which consisted of two Dash 8-100s and four Dash 8-300s.
“Since ceasing operations, [Silverstone Air] has been in a tussle with them due to breach of contract,” a source familiar with the airline said.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Silverstone Air continues to be in possession of three Fokker 50(F)s, leased from Largus Aviation, four Fokker 50s, and one CRJ(F). The CRJ and one of the four F50 passenger turboprops are owned by Avmax Aircraft Leasing. The remaining three F50s are owned by Silverstone Air and have been leased out to Maandeeq Air.
Another source told The Star that Silverstone was continuing its cargo services with the Fokker Aircraft freighters and that it had flown seven pilots to Malaysia to train them on the F50. The source added that the carrier had opted to wet-lease some of its remaining aircraft to Salaam Air and SomAir, without specifying which.
Silverstone Air was not immediately available for comment.
