The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Family Island tourism and hotel operators yesterday voiced alarm that some visitors were abruptly stranded in The Bahamas over the weekend when a troubled airline was forced to cancel its Orlando services.

Kerry Fountain, the Bahama Out Island Promotion Board’s executive director, told Tribune Business that “of course we’re concerned” by the ongoing struggles of Silver Airways, which remains in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US, given that it has pledged to provide significant airlift capacity to multiple destinations in this nation through July 2025.

“If you look at the number of seats Silver Airways has pledged to deliver between December of last year to July this year, the number is between 85,000 and 90,000 seats,” said Mr Fountain, who confirmed he was aware of the weekend woes and was due to speak to the carrier yesterday.

“That’s a lot of seats. And that’s just between December of last year and July of this year. Of course, if we were to lose those seats, it definitely creates a huge issue in terms of access; getting to the Family Islands from south Florida.” Mr Fountain was unable to confirm what percentage of the airlift from Florida to the Family Islands is generated by Silver Airways.

However, among the destinations served from its Fort Lauderdale hub are Great Exuma, North Eleuthera, Governor’s Harbour, Marsh Harbour, Freeport, Bimini and Nassau. Silver Airways also provides airlift connectivity to The Bahamas from other Florida destinations such as Tampa, Orlando, Pensacola, Tallahassee and Key West, all of which link to this nation via Fort Lauderdale.

Silver Airways, in a statement responding to Tribune Business inquiries, yesterday blamed the weekend’s “last minute” Orlando cancellations on being forced to ground all planes servicing that routs by the leasing firm which supplied the aircraft. It added that the cancellations have now mushroomed into a “wind down” and closure of its Orlando business, although all other routes will remain operational.

One traveller posted that they were left stranded in Exuma on Saturday, March 1, as a result of the disruption caused by the weekend Orlando flight cancellations. “Flight to Fort Lauderdale keeps getting delayed but what’s worse is that I have a Jet Blue flight from Fort Lauderdale to Boston tomorrow (originally for tonight) that I keep having to cancel and reschedule,” they said on Reddit.

Silver Airways, in its statement to this newspaper, said: “Silver regrets and apologises for the last-minute cancellations of flights from Orlando International Airport. To date, Silver’s restructuring has been going exceedingly well but unfortunately Dutch aircraft leasing company, TrueNoord, abruptly reversed its previously stated position and immediately required Silver to pay millions of dollars to retain the airplanes we have been flying for years.

“In addition to this last-minute financial demand, TrueNoord ordered the immediate grounding of the aircraft, giving us no chance to operate the flights our customers were relying on. We are working with our customers to rebook itineraries and minimise inconvenience for travellers. We are continuing to operate our schedules from our Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and San Juan gateways.”

Silver Airways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on December 30 last year. TrueNoord, according to documents filed with the south Florida bankruptcy court, has leased two ATR-42s and one ATR-72 to the carrier, which provides connectivity to one of The Bahamas’ key visitor source markets and helps thus nation exploit its US proximity.

Emanuel “Manny” Alexiou, the Bahama Out Island Promotion Board’s chairman, told Tribune Business yesterday that this nation should make contingency plans by approaching other airlines to see if they would be willing to provide the same connectivity through Fort Lauderdale that Silver Airways offers.

“I’m encouraging them, the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation etc, to try and find other airlines from Fort Lauderdale and see if we can encourage some of the other airlines, whether it be Western Air or Bahamasair or another carrier, I hope they find another airline from Fort Lauderdale,” he said.

“It’s a very important hub for us. Silver Airways has all the connections from Tampa and Orlando. None of the other carriers are going to take on everything Silver is doing. Fort Lauderdale is a hub from north to south, not as busy as Miami, but it is a hub and, for Silver Airways, a hub for other Florida connections.

“If Silver goes, I don’t know who else picks up the slack? Not for us necessarily, but within the US. They’re trying to up the seats but it’s about reliability, not cancelling if you don’t get sufficient people on the flight. Leaving people stranded leaves a bad taste in the mouth,” Mr Alexiou continued.

“There must be carriers other than Silver that do the Fort Lauderdale thing. Delta goes into Fort Lauderdale. It would be a nice hop over point. I wish them [Silver] luck, of course, but at the moment it’s a bit of a problem.”

Silver Airways said its decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy was designed to enable it to “secure additional capital and undertake a financial restructuring”. It added that it voluntarily entered the Chapter 11 process, and said it was expected to emerge from this during the 2025 first quarter which ends in 28 days on March 31.

“We want to share an important step Silver Airways has taken to ensure a sustainable future for our company. Today, we voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida,” said the Silver Airways announcement.

“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 you—our valued customers. We anticipate completing this process by the first quarter of 2025, emerging stronger and ready to continue serving you with the same dedication we’ve upheld for over 13 years.

“All tickets remain valid, and we will continue operating as usual. You can book flights with Silver through our website or any other channel. United and JetBlue customers, including loyalty programme members, will experience no disruptions to their bookings or services. Tickets purchased through any other airline or agency will be honoured.”