Florida-based airline Silver Airways is shutting down, the company announced on social media earlier this week.
According to the announcement, the airline is ceasing all operations as of June 11. The statement said in an attempt to restructure in bankruptcy, Silver entered into a transaction to sell its assets to another airline holding company, which determined not to continue Silver’s flight operations in Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean.
Watch report from Mary O'Connell
"Please do not go to the airport," the social media post reads. Silver offered nonstop flights to Fort Lauderdale, Key West, and Pensacola out of Tampa International Airport.
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Red "canceled" alerts on the big board greeted passengers at the empty ticketing desk at TPA on Wednesday.
“I woke up at 4 a.m., saw a notification, looked at it, thinking it was a reminder again to check in, and that's when we were told that it was canceled," said Melissa Helfer.
Helfer had a flight from Tampa to Key West on Thursday morning.
“Oh, we’ve been planning since March. It’s kind of like our Mother’s Day gift to ourselves," said Helfer. "Now we have to scramble to figure out how we're getting there. Now we're going to drive, which is not something we wanted to do."
Another passenger said that alternate flight options for this weekend are hundreds of dollars due to the short notice.
Katy Nastro, a travel expert for the Going travel app, said the biggest advice is act quickly.
“If they’re taking another flight out of the schedules that’s no longer going to exist, that means that there’s one less flight and much less seat options for you to get rebooked on," said Nastro.
For fliers looking for a bright side, Nastro shared this point.
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“The average price of airfare is down another 2.5% month over month and roughly 8% year over year, so that’s good news for anybody that is looking to book future travel for, say, Thanksgiving or the winter holidays," said Nastro.
The company said all credit card purchases should be refunded through credit card companies or travel agencies.
But Helfer said navigating that process hasn't been easy.
“I’ve been on hold for over an hour now with their customer support, which I don’t think I’m going to actually get through with someone, so I probably will have to dispute that with the bank," said Helfer.
On Dec. 30, 2024, Silver announced on its website that it voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida to secure additional capital and undertake a financial restructuring.
"[It] will strengthen our position as a competitive airline, ultimately benefiting you—our valued customers," the previous statement reads.
This article was written by Rebekah Nelson and Mary O'Connell for the Scripps News Group in Tampa.
