Silver Airways narrowly avoids lease termination at South Florida base

US regional carrier Silver Airways has struck a last-minute deal to avoid eviction from its base at South Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood international airport due to owing more than $1.4m in back rent and late fees. But it remains possible that the airline – which flies passengers with ATR-600s in the Southeastern USA and the Caribbean – will lose its main operational base if it continues to default on payments. Steve Rossum, Silver’s CE, told the Broward County Commission on 18 April that “Fort Lauderdale is our most important operating hub” and said that more than 300 of the airline’s 883 employees live in the area. ”Silver is important to this community, and we need to do a better job to rebuild trust with the commission and the Broward County Airport Authority… for Silver to reach its full potential,” he acknowledges. “We think it is vitally important. I am actually disappointed in my behaviour…. and that we did not pay our bills in accordance with the terms.” “That is not how we enter business relationships,” Rossum adds. The commission had been set to consider on 18 April whether to terminate Silver’s lease, having been provided with a series of default notices outlining unpaid terminal lease obligations toward its operations at Fort Lauderdale. At one point in early 2022, Silver owed more than $1m in “seriously delinquent” rent, gate fees, landing fees and late fees, according to the county. The airline’s total outstanding balance has since grown to about $1.4m. <br/>