Silver Airways, a regional airline based in Florida, abruptly ceased all operations on June 11, leaving stranded passengers in the wake of its bankruptcy announcement.

In a statement released on social media, the company expressed regret in informing customers that it would no longer be operating. The announcement came after a potential buyer, who was expected to fund the airline’s operations during its sale under Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, decided not to continue Silver’s flight operations.

The airline, which operates in Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean, advised passengers not to go to the airport. It also assured customers that all credit card purchases would be fully refundable, either through their credit card company or their travel agency.

Former airline executive and current president of R. W. Mann and Co. , Robert W. Mann, Jr. , explained that even tickets not purchased by credit card would still be eligible for refunds, but passengers would have to join the line of other airline creditors.

Those with upcoming travel plans on Silver Airways will likely have to purchase tickets at higher prices on other airlines. Mann also noted that it is rare for airlines in the U. S. to go completely out of business, as struggling carriers are often acquired by other airlines or merged into different operations.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a few small regional airlines operating on behalf of larger carriers went out of business, but were quickly replaced by the larger airlines. More recently, Tailwind, a small airline providing seaplane service between New York and Boston, also went out of business in 2024.

Updates were made to the story to include new information.

Natalie Neysa Alund, a senior reporter for USA TODAY, can be reached at nalund@usatoday. com. Zach Wichter, a travel reporter and writer of the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY, can be contacted at zwichter@usatoday. com.