Silver Airways and the government of Anguilla are getting into a bit of a spat, and I’ve gotta say, it’s not a very good look for the airline.
In this post:
Silver Airways suspends Anguilla flights indefinitely
Regional Florida-based Silver Airways seems to be discontinuing its seasonal service between San Juan (SJU) and Anguilla (AXA) earlier than planned. The public first became aware of this thanks to a note posted on Silver Airways’ social media channels, when the carrier provided the following bizarre explanation:
We are suspending our operations in AXA (Anguilla) effective immediately. Unfortunately, we have been put in this difficult position because the government of Anguilla is asking Silver to violate US law and we refused to do so.
We regret inconveniencing our loyal customers and harming the citizens of Anguilla who rely on tourism for their livelihoods, we have been given no other choice by the Anguillan authorities.
Initially we didn’t have the other side of the story, though honestly, Silver Airways’ explanation immediately made me assume the government of Anguilla was in the right. What kind of an explanation is it to tell your customers that you have to cut a route because a destination is asking you to “violate US law,” without explaining what law they’re asking you to violate?
Keep in mind that Silver Airways recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, so I figured that wasn’t totally unrelated. Well, it didn’t take the government of Anguilla long to respond…
Silver Airways racked up $103K+ in unpaid fees in Anguilla
The government of Anguilla has put Silver Airways on blast… good for them! The government announced that Silver Airways’ winter 2025 seasonal permit to fly to the airport has been revoked. The reason? Over $103,000 in unpaid fees to the airport, and this goes back to long before the airline filed for Chapter 11.
Prior to Silver Airways filing for Chapter 11, numerous unsuccessful attempts were made to settle the outstanding debt that Silver Airways has accrued since May 2023. On September 3, 2024, Silver Airways was informed that failure to settle the debt, or part thereof, would cause the carrier’s seasonal permit to be eliminated.
Silver Airways didn’t settle any of the outstanding debt before the company determined it was necessary to file for Chapter 11, and has now informed the government that it’s not legally permitted to make payments or sign repayment agreements, and is thereby incapable of settling the debts incurred.
The airline has also failed to provide the government with any further information about its ability to repay the debt in the future, but has still sought permission to continue operating to Anguilla.
Yeah, I’m sorry, but this is really low on Silver Airways’ part. The carrier has a history of not paying airports (it almost got kicked out of its Fort Lauderdale hub due to unpaid fees). Over nearly two years, it racked up over $103,000 in unpaid fees with this small airport.
The government repeatedly warned the airline that not paying fees would cause it to be kicked out of the airport. While it’s probably true that Silver Airways is not permitted to repay those fees while in bankruptcy, the carrier is conveniently glossing over the root cause of the issue. It’s not that Anguilla is asking Silver Airways to violate US law, but rather that Silver Airways has refused to pay its debts prior to filing for bankruptcy.
How low of the airline to apologize for the harm being caused the citizens of Anguilla after being “given no other choice.” You know what would help the citizens of Anguilla? Paying the fees you owe them! Honestly, the way the airline is handling this is just super sketchy, in my opinion.
Bottom line
Silver Airways has suspended flights to Anguilla. The company claimed this was because the government of Anguilla was trying to force the airline to violate US law, and the airline patriotically refused to do so. However, the reality is that the airline has racked up a lot of debt at the airport over the past couple of years.
The airline did nothing to address this debt before or after filing for bankruptcy, and the government has had enough.
What do you make of this Silver Airways & Anguilla situation?
Companies circling the drain have been known to pander to the patriotic American flag crowd
Why has nobody asked what the debts are? Are they legitimate (not bribes), what was the cause of the debts, why were they not being paid as they went, etc.? Everyone's so quick to agree with whoever got the last word in. I'm saying this as someone who doesn't really know where Anguilla is and had never heard of Silver Airlines before this article, so I have no stake in the game.
That's not how things work in Anguilla. There isn't corruption there.
Flew them a few years ago from Harbour Island to FLL. Only airline I swore I'd never fly them again. The return was delayed 5 hours - fine, that happens every now and again - but the customer service was the worst I've ever experienced. Would rather pay 5x for the Delta or AA flights to go there than deal with Silver again.
I should add to my last comment that companies also typically file "first day motions" for court permission to pay critical vendors. If the airline didn't do that maybe they're blameworthy but I don't know enough about airline bankruptcies to know whether that would be standard in such a filing.
(And a typo above; *executory contracts)
Just looked it up -- Spirit, for example, expressly sought court permission to pay airport fees and the like, because they wanted to keep operating of course. Not sure what Silver asked for or is hoping to accomplish in bankruptcy.
Via Chapter 11, the initial filing would list the top 10 debts outstanding. However, wouldn't Silver need to eventually list each creditor as part of its legal process. Would be nice to see the detailed list because I feel there are other airports that are owned money.
I say this because in the Sears bankruptcy, it listed a store near New Orleans that it claimed it owned as an asset. However, the owner of the...
Via Chapter 11, the initial filing would list the top 10 debts outstanding. However, wouldn't Silver need to eventually list each creditor as part of its legal process. Would be nice to see the detailed list because I feel there are other airports that are owned money.
I say this because in the Sears bankruptcy, it listed a store near New Orleans that it claimed it owned as an asset. However, the owner of the corresponding shopping center had purchased the same building a few years earlier from Sears for future potential development. The shopping center had to make an emergency filing to have the store removed from the asset list. I understand the judge in the case wasn't too happy with the sloppy info from Sears.
Not to be hyper technical, and without defending the precise wording of the press releases, it could indeed be a violation of US law to made a "preference" payment to Anguilla right now (the period actually goes back 90 days before filing) without court approval. And bankruptcy law in the US generally does not permit counterparties to debtors to terminate executors contracts unilaterally simply because of nonpayment or bankruptcy filing (that's why, for example, you...
Not to be hyper technical, and without defending the precise wording of the press releases, it could indeed be a violation of US law to made a "preference" payment to Anguilla right now (the period actually goes back 90 days before filing) without court approval. And bankruptcy law in the US generally does not permit counterparties to debtors to terminate executors contracts unilaterally simply because of nonpayment or bankruptcy filing (that's why, for example, you don't see immediate evictions upon bankruptcy where past rent is one of the unpaid debts).
Now the PR angle, I'll leave that to others.
The Government of Anguilla is not subject to "bankruptcy law in the US". Silber Airways knew this, or should have.
Right, but Silver Airways is. So their payments to Anguilla would be.
And they are indeed subject as a creditor -- if they want to collect, they're going to have to do it against US assets presumably, so they'll have to comply with US bankruptcy law. This happens all the time. Sovereigns are not categorically exempt from the provisions of the bankruptcy code that proscribe certain forms of creditor self help.
Silver Airways is what happens when one of those scam airlines actually goes to the trouble of (sometimes) operating flights.
In Anguilla now and been coming for more than 10 years. I don't know Silver's traffic numbers but I suspect scuttling their service from SJU is not a great loss for the people here. Most islanders I know ferry or charter boat to SXM and fly out of there. AA has 2-3 flights a day direct to AXA from MIA.
They're full of excuses on their site so I posted this article and they've been mum so far! :)
I wonder if the airport could have acted sooner to seize one of their planes to pay the debt, given it's been going on 2 years. Although I suppose getting a court judgement takes a while.
Ubelievable. There's a regulation that says that you have to pay your debts?
Wow, can't wait for deregulation to come fast enough!
The person writing that airline press release probably has a great career ahead as the worst kind of lowlife spin doctor at some PR hack shop. Amazing how some people have the gall to completely reverse who is responsible for something when trying to win points in the public light. I bet if they were forced to put their name at the end of the press release they'd hesitate a bit more.
I hear social media companies are flush with cash after laying off a bunch of content moderators, and are looking to hire professional spin doctors. They have a long and lucrative career ahead of them.