Florida-based Silver Airways has closed its doors, effective Wednesday.

The regional carrier, which serves destinations in the Sunshine State and the Caribbean, ceased all operations after filing for bankruptcy in December 2024.

The airline told customers “please do not go to the airport” and encouraged them to seek refunds via credit card companies and travel agencies.

Silver Airways has announced it will cease operations effective immediately.

All assets, including its fleet of ATR 42/72 aircraft, have been sold. pic.twitter.com/vaCGv4kJul

— Ishrion Aviation (@IshrionA) June 11, 2025

A closer look:

Per FOX 13 Tampa Bay:

The airline, which was based in Hollywood, Florida, and had a hub in Tampa, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2024.

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At the time, Silver Airways promised to continue normal operations, but some flights were abruptly canceled as far back as early March.

The airline was founded in 2011 and previously served Tampa, Orlando, Pensacola, Fort Lauderdale and Key West, along with airports in the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

"Please do not go to the airport." | Silver Airways, based out of Fort Lauderdale, has ceased all operations. Read more: https://t.co/5sJbnn4xLH pic.twitter.com/wvc8ETjVb6

— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) June 11, 2025

USA TODAY reports:

The move, the company reported on social media, came after a potential buyer decided not to fund the airline’s operations during a sale out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

As the airline wrote on social media, all tickets purchased by credit card will be fully refundable to the form of purchase. According to Robert W. Mann, Jr., a former airline executive officer and current president of R. W. Mann and Co., an independent airline consultancy, tickets not purchased by credit card will still be eligible for refunds, but those would-be passengers will have to get in line with other airline creditors.

Passengers with tickets who need to travel soon will likely need to purchase tickets on other airlines at higher prices, according to Mann.

It’s very rare for airlines in the U.S. to completely go out of business.

Often, struggling airlines get purchased by other carriers or folded into another company’s operations. According to Mann, a few small regional airlines that operated on behalf of larger carriers went out of business during the height of the COVID pandemic, but those larger airlines reshuffled service to bridge the gap.