Silver Airways (3M, Fort Lauderdale International) will be allowed to remain at Fort Lauderdale International after stakeholders agreed on a plan to pay off USD1.4 million in airport fee arrears on the eve of a Broward County Commission hearing that aimed to evict the regional airline from its Florida operating hub.

At a meeting on April 18, the County Commission unanimously greenlighted a motion approving a last-minute "forbearance agreement", by which the County forebears from terminating Silver Airways' leases at the airport provided the airline fully complies with the following:

  • an immediate repayment of USD200,000;
  • an additional USD300,000 payment towards the outstanding balance by May 19, 2023;
  • two payments of USD100,00 each by June 16 and July 21, 2023, to replenish up to 50% of its security deposit;
  • nine equal monthly instalments of the outstanding amount to be made on the 18th of each month between August 18, 2023, and April 19, 2024;
  • the remainder of the security deposit must be paid by May 17, 2024.

Should Silver Airways fail to fully and timeously comply at any stage of the payment plan, the county will be entitled to terminate the lease agreements after due notice of five business days.

According to Broward County attorney Andrew J. Meyers, a "small dispute" remained about the total amount outstanding, which the county had calculated at USD1,409,318.78 by April 2023. Under the forbearance agreement, the parties would agree in writing on the outstanding amount by May 19, 2023. If they could not agree, the first eight monthly instalments would be USD100,000 each, while the ninth monthly instalment would be whatever Silver Airways acknowledged remained in arrears. The parties would then reserve all legal rights to dispute the balance.

When replenished in full, Silver Airways' security deposit would total USD407,000, which was significantly higher than its previous deposit of USD113,634.

Speaking during the County Commission hearing, all stakeholders concurred the agreement - the culmination of 1.5 years of negotiations - was in the best interest of the airline, the airport, and the community. Silver Airways Chief Executive Officer Steven Rossum said the negotiations had been "interesting", but "everybody had the right interests at heart and want Silver Airways to succeed in this community". "I am disappointed in my behaviour and some of the others that we didn't pay our bills in accordance with the terms. That is not how we go into business relationships." He said Silver Airways was an "integral part of the FLL network". "FLL is our most important operating hub. We have many, many employees who work here. We need to do a better job at rebuilding trust with the County Commission and the airport authority in terms of timely performing payments.[...] We will be current going forward," he promised.

Broward County Administrator Monica Cepero said the forbearance agreement complied with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant assistance regulations that required the airport to treat all airlines equally. "We believe that it is fair, and we are hopeful this will bring a path forward on a relationship where Silver Airways remains current on all of its invoices," she commented.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Chief Executive Officer & Director of Aviation Mark Gale concurred, pointing out that Silver Airways' previous repayment proposals had been "insufficient in terms of material value dollar-wise, timewise, and potentially illegal that would have put the airport sideways in terms of certain FAA provisions, or just not consistent with our business model at the airport".

Gale said Silver Airways' payment issues had predated the Covid-19 pandemic but had become more pronounced in 2021. As reported, by January 2022, the airline was found in default. At the time, Gale said, the airport had rescinded the default notice on request of the airline, which said it was potentially jeopardising a deal it was about to close, which would have enabled it to repay its areas. Silver Airways had made a sizeable deposit, but by September, the airport issued another default notice after arrears started to accumulate again. He said the parties had only been able to find a solution on the eve of the commission hearing. "I think the forbearance agreement is in the best interest of the airport, the county, and hopefully in the best interest of Silver Airways and hopefully, we will be able to see them prosper and grow," he concluded.