Silver Airways Shuts Down, Converts to Chapter 7
Silver Airways LLC filed chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida on December 30, 2024, under case No. 24-23623. The airline later stopped operating, and the court converted the cases to chapter 7 on July 28, 2025. The First Day Declaration ties the filing to ATR fleet-transition problems, delivery delays, training constraints, spare-parts shortages, and a capital structure that left substantially all assets encumbered.
Silver moved from a cash collateral motion to a $5.5 million DIP facility and then into a sale process built around a $5.775 million stalking horse bid from an affiliate of the DIP lender. No competing bid arrived. The airline stopped operating on June 11, 2025, the court later directed appointment of a chapter 11 trustee, and the cases converted to chapter 7 on July 28. The case ended with a sale order, a trustee-led wind-down, and a separate Seaborne sale process.
Sources (31)
- wages motionCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- First Day DeclarationCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- cash collateral motionCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- interim cash collateral orderCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- DIP motionCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- interim DIP orderCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- final DIP orderCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- bidding procedures motionCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- bidding procedures orderCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- sale orderCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- order directing appointment of a chapter 11 trusteeCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- motion to convertCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- conversion orderCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- Seaborne sale orderCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- motion to operate Seaborne for a limited periodCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- final claims agent retention orderCourt filing (opens in a new tab)
- US's Silver Airways files for Chapter 11 restructuringch-aviation.com · December 31, 2024 (opens in a new tab)
- Silver Airways receives 'stalking horse' $5.775M bid (Sun Sentinel, 2025-05-05)sun-sentinel.com · May 5, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Regional carrier Silver Airways says it's shutting down operationsapnews.com · June 11, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- continue operating during chapter 11travelweekly.com (opens in a new tab)
- US's Silver Airways taps cash collateral, eyes DIP financingch-aviation.com · January 9, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- open letterstthomassource.com (opens in a new tab)
- Zero bids for troubled Silver Airways at bankruptcy auction (Aerospace Global News, 2025-06)aerospaceglobalnews.com · June 1, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Silver Airways asset sale approved by bankruptcy judge (Sun Sentinel, 2025-06-21)sun-sentinel.com · June 21, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- continued flying during chapter 11travelweekly.com (opens in a new tab)
- The final departure of Silver Airways leaves passengers and employees on the tarmacwlrn.org · June 16, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Judge ousts Silver Airways management, moves to appoint a trustee (Sun Sentinel, 2025-06-25)sun-sentinel.com · June 25, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Silver Airways Chapter 11: The Importance of Obtaining Creditor Consentlowenstein.com · July 10, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Seaborne Will Continue Operating as Affiliation With Silver Airways Endsstthomassource.com · June 12, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Leonite Fund I Acquires Seaborne Airlines for $1.425M at Bankruptcy Auctionstthomassource.com · July 4, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Wexford Affiliate Eyes Launch Of 'Argentum Airways' With Silver Assetsaviationweek.com · July 2, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
Case record
Converted to Chapter 7 on ·
- · Notice of Filing Motion for Administrative Expense Claim for Dave Nixon. (Thompson, Luctricia)
- · Agreed Ex Parte Motion to Continue Hearing On: [([677] Application for Administrative Expenses)] Filed by Trustee Soneet Kapila (Moses, Glenn)
- · Ex Parte Motion For Leave To Appear Remotely on 8/28/2025 at 02:30 [(Re:[835] Miscellaneous Motion)] Filed by Creditor Brigade Agency Services LLC (Terzo, Frank)
Public case facts. Searchable documents available. Full docket access requires Pro.
| Debtor(s) | Silver Airways LLC; Seaborne Virgin Islands, Inc. |
| Court | U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida |
| Case Number | 24-23623 |
| Petition Date | December 30, 2024 |
| Judge | Hon. Peter D. Russin |
| DIP Facility | $5.5 million from KIA II LLC |
| Stalking Horse Bid | $5.775 million by Argentum Acquisition Co. LLC |
| Trustee Appointment Order | June 25, 2025 |
| Conversion Date | July 28, 2025 |
Fleet Transition Problems and a Fully Encumbered Balance Sheet
The filing record describes Silver as an independent regional airline built around Florida, the Bahamas, and Caribbean service, with a route map centered on underserved markets and a related Seaborne platform in the Virgin Islands. The First Day Declaration lists the debtors' principal place of business at 2850 Greene Street in Hollywood, Florida and says the company's "Back to our Routes" strategy focused on Florida-Bahamas flying, higher-yield intra-Florida service, and Caribbean routes centered on San Juan. A separate wages motion said Silver employed 537 full-time and 109 part-time workers as of the petition date, with pilots and flight attendants covered by collective bargaining agreements.
Silver said it had shifted from Saab aircraft to ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600 turboprops and had positioned itself as the ATR-600 launch customer in the United States. The First Day Declaration says certification delays, missed aircraft deliveries, training limits, and spare-parts shortages disrupted the rollout. The declaration says those issues increased costs and reduced operational reliability during the fleet transition. Trade coverage at filing similarly described the case as an effort to continue operating during chapter 11.
The declaration also points to a ground-handling incident involving Menzies that left an ATR72 out of service for roughly six months, plus disputes with lessors over maintenance reserves and engine-reserve reductions. Coverage shortly after the filing reported that the company had already turned to cash collateral while it searched for longer-term financing.
Silver said in the First Day Declaration that its sole member was Argent Financing, LLC, which in turn was owned by Argent Holdings (2016), LLC, both controlled by funds managed by Versa Capital Management. The filing says Brigade Capital Management held a facility with outstanding principal and interest of at least $186,793,159 through December 2024, while Argent Funding, LLC and Volant SVI Funding, LLC held additional facilities totaling not less than $211 million. Silver also said those lenders asserted liens on substantially all assets, with Brigade claiming cash-collateral rights and Argent and Volant holding second-priority liens. On the petition date, the debtors were seeking chapter 11 relief with secured obligations that management said exceeded $397 million.
Silver's customer letter said the company expected to preserve operations and emerge as a stronger airline, and trade outlets repeated the point that the carrier planned to continue flying. The First Day Declaration says the debtors needed immediate authority to use cash collateral and attributed the filing to operating problems and secured debt. By April, the debtors were seeking DIP financing and a sale process.
DIP Financing and a Sale Process With No Competing Bids
The debtors filed a cash collateral motion on January 2, 2025, and the court entered an interim cash collateral order on January 8. That relief allowed the airline to keep operating while management and lenders worked toward postpetition financing and a formal marketing process.
The next major step came on April 15, 2025, when the debtors filed a DIP motion seeking authority to borrow up to $5.5 million from KIA II LLC. The motion says the facility would fund working capital, case administration costs, and other court-approved expenses under a DIP budget, with roughly $2.75 million available on an interim basis. The proposed pricing included a 13% fixed interest rate, a 15% default rate, a 5% funding fee, and a 5% exit fee. The interim DIP order followed on April 22, and the final DIP order followed on May 16.
The DIP motion gave KIA II priming liens and a superpriority administrative claim, subject to the usual carve-out for U.S. Trustee fees and professional fees. It also tied maturity to the earliest of six months after closing, a sale closing, an acceptable plan effective date, or acceleration after default. Public reporting at the time described Silver as using the financing to stay in the air while it sought a buyer.
In the bidding procedures motion filed on May 2, 2025, Silver proposed a sale of substantially all Silver assets, excluding Seaborne and Silver's equity interests in Seaborne, and identified a stalking horse purchaser affiliated with the DIP lender. The motion says the stalking horse bid totaled $5,775,000 and would be funded through a credit bid of the amount due under the DIP facility. It also proposed a May 23 bid deadline, a May 28 auction if necessary, a June 3 objection deadline, and a June 5 sale hearing. A 5% break-up fee was part of the package. Local coverage of that filing described the offer as a $5.775 million stalking horse bid for the auction.
The court approved the process in the bidding procedures order entered on May 16, but approval of the process did not produce an actual market. Aerospace trade coverage later reported that Silver and its advisors had contacted more than 75 potential acquirers and finance parties and still failed to draw a qualified overbid. That public account fits the record. No competing bid supplanted the stalking horse, and the sale order entered on June 19 says Argentum Acquisition Co. LLC was both the stalking horse bidder and the only bidder.
The sale order approved a sale free and clear under section 363 and recited hearings on June 4, June 10, June 11, and June 18. The order also states that the consideration offered a better recovery than available alternatives. Public coverage described Judge Peter D. Russin as having approved the asset sale after the auction failed to generate a competing bidder. The stalking horse remained the winning bidder.
Shutdown, Trustee Appointment, and Chapter 7 Conversion
On June 11, 2025, Silver stopped operating and told customers not to go to the airport. Travel-industry coverage described the shutdown as the end of a Florida-Caribbean route network that had continued flying during chapter 11. Local reporting after the shutdown focused on stranded travelers and unpaid employees.
On June 25, 2025, the court entered the order directing appointment of a chapter 11 trustee. The order says trustee appointment was in the best interests of creditors and the estates, requires management to cooperate and turn over books and records, and notes that the court's reasons were stated on the record rather than set out in detail in the written order. Public coverage described Judge Peter D. Russin as having ousted management and moved to appoint a trustee.
The motion to convert filed on July 15 by chapter 11 trustee Soneet R. Kapila says the estates were administratively insolvent, administrative claims continued to mount, substantially all assets had already been sold, and there was no business left to rehabilitate. Kapila asked to move the cases out of chapter 11 on that basis.
The court agreed in the conversion order entered on July 28, 2025. That order converted the cases to chapter 7, required immediate turnover of estate property and records, directed the filing of an accounting within 30 days, and required schedules of postpetition debts and remaining statements within 14 days. It also set a 90-day deadline for professionals to seek payment for chapter 11 work. Lowenstein later cited the case in a discussion of creditor consent problems.
By late July, the cases had converted to chapter 7. Sale proceeds, professional claims, employee-related issues, and other residual estate matters remained for the chapter 7 trustee to administer.
Seaborne's Separate Sale and the Asset Afterlife
Silver and Seaborne did not end on the same day or through the same process. The Silver bidding procedures motion carved Seaborne out of the initial Silver asset sale, and the Seaborne sale order entered on July 3, 2025 approved a separate transaction for the subsidiary. External coverage at the time reported that Seaborne continued operating after Silver itself stopped flying.
On July 29, 2025, Kapila filed a motion to operate Seaborne for a limited period under section 721. The motion says temporary operations were necessary to comply with the asset purchase agreement and transition-services agreement and to facilitate transfer of DOT and FAA certificates. It also says the bridge period was expected to last until November 8, 2025 at the latest, or earlier if the certificate transfer closed sooner. The filing describes a trustee-run bridge tied to the closing process and certificate transfer.
St. Thomas Source reported that Leonite Fund I acquired Seaborne for $1.425 million. At the same time, Aviation Week reported that a Wexford affiliate planned to launch Argentum Airways using Silver assets. Seaborne moved through its own transaction, while some Silver assets were slated for a successor platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Silver Airways file for bankruptcy?
Silver Airways and Seaborne Virgin Islands filed chapter 11 on December 30, 2024. The debtors used the filing to keep operating while they sought financing and a buyer, and the customer letter sent at filing said tickets remained valid during that effort.
Why did Silver Airways file?
The First Day Declaration attributes the filing to ATR transition problems, spare-parts shortages, training constraints, delivery delays, and broader liquidity pressure. The same filing also points to a Menzies incident that sidelined an ATR72 for months and disputes over maintenance and engine reserves. Those operating issues landed on top of a debt stack that management said exceeded $397 million, including at least $186,793,159 owed to Brigade Capital Management and not less than $211 million owed to Argent Funding and Volant SVI Funding, with those lenders asserting liens on substantially all assets, including cash collateral.
What was the DIP facility?
The DIP motion sought authority to borrow up to $5.5 million from KIA II LLC, with pricing that included a 13% fixed rate, a 15% default rate, a 5% funding fee, and a 5% exit fee. The court entered the interim DIP order on April 22 and the final DIP order on May 16. Trade coverage described the facility as the bridge that let Silver keep flying while it pursued a buyer.
Who bought Silver Airways' assets?
Argentum Acquisition Co. LLC became the successful bidder under the sale order entered on June 19, 2025, after Silver and its advisors contacted more than 75 potential acquirers and finance parties without producing a qualified overbid on the $5,775,000 stalking horse bid. Public coverage described that ruling as approval of the lender-linked stalking horse transaction, including local sale coverage. The consideration was tied largely to the DIP credit bid rather than a third-party cash acquisition.
Why did the court appoint a chapter 11 trustee, and how did the case end?
The written trustee order says appointment of a chapter 11 trustee was in the best interests of creditors and the estates and notes that the court's reasons were stated on the record. Outside coverage of the June 25 hearing described Judge Peter D. Russin as having removed management and pushed the case into a trustee-led wind-down. The case did not end with a confirmed chapter 11 plan: the trustee argued the estates were administratively insolvent with no business left to rehabilitate, filed the motion to convert on July 15, and the court entered the conversion order on July 28. Lowenstein later cited the case in its discussion of creditor consent problems.
What happened to Seaborne?
Seaborne did not shut down on the same timetable as Silver. The Seaborne sale order approved a separate transaction, and outside reporting said the subsidiary continued operating after Silver stopped flying. Later coverage reported that Leonite bought Seaborne for $1.425 million, while the trustee used the limited-operation motion to bridge certificate transfers and closing obligations.
Who is the claims agent for Silver Airways?
The court approved Kurtzman Carson Consultants, LLC, doing business as Verita Global, as the notice, claims, and solicitation agent in the final claims agent retention order. Verita handled the claims register and noticing function under that order.
Ask our AI chat to review the Silver Airways docket, including the conversion order, sale order, and trustee filings tied to the chapter 7 wind-down.
For related coverage, see Spirit Airlines' two chapter 11 filings and shutdown and Azul's confirmed chapter 11 airline restructuring.
This article was researched and written with AI assistance, using court filings, public records, and news sources. AI-generated content can contain errors. Verify all information against primary sources before relying on it. This is not legal or financial advice. See the disclaimer.