Silver Airways Leaving Tupelo

SILVER AIRWAYS PRESS RELEASES

As part of its plan to strengthen operations, increase revenue, reduce costs, and better position the airline for future growth and other opportunities, Silver Airways today announced plans to exit much of its Atlanta network and redeploy its aircraft and team members to other key markets.

Silver has provided the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) with the required 90-day notice of its intent to discontinue scheduled service between Atlanta and five communities, including Muscle Shoals, Alabama (MSL); Greenville, Mississippi (GLH); Laurel/Hattiesburg, Mississippi (PIB); Tupelo, Mississippi (TUP); and Meridian, Mississippi (MEI).

Silver does intend, however, to continue operations between Atlanta and Macon, Georgia (MCN), and between Macon and Orlando, Florida (MCO), as well as between Atlanta and Greenbrier/Lewisburg, West Virginia (LWB).

“The plans announced today are a necessary and important component of our strategy to continue rationalizing our fleet and network to better position ourselves for future growth and greater success by improving our operational performance and better serving customers and business partners in our core markets.

“While we have been privileged to be able to serve these cities from Atlanta for the past year-and-a-half, multiple factors have combined to make it economically impossible for us to continue flying in these markets,” said Silver Airways President and CEO Dave Pflieger. “New federal regulations related to flight and duty limitations, as well as increased requirements related to new hire pilot certification, have had the unintended effect of creating a nationwide shortage of regional airline pilots. Those facts, coupled with significantly lower than expected passenger enplanements in most of our Atlanta-network cities have made it uneconomical for us to continue serving these communities.”

“While we have announced our plans to exit these particular markets, we remain interested in serving any community or airport where we can operate economically,” said Pflieger. “The plans announced today are a necessary and important component of our strategy to continue building a best-in-class next generation regional airline.”

The airline also confirmed that once operations at the affected communities are discontinued, all team members in good standing who wish to remain with Silver will be offered opportunities elsewhere. “We have open positions throughout the rest of our network, and we hope these team members choose to continue their careers with our award-winning airline,” added Pflieger.