Silverstone Air to remain grounded a little longer

Troubled Silverstone Air will remain grounded until they have discussed and understood the findings of the aviation regulator before resuming operations.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) lifted the suspension of the airlines Dash 8 Series imposed on November 12 after it provided corrective measures as per the requirements of the civil aviation regulations following a comprehensive compliance audit.

However, a source at the airline told the Nation they are yet to get an official communication from KCAA, other than what has been reported in the media.

“We will first wait and understand what exactly KCAA found during their audit before a decision to resume operations is taken,” he said.

In an internal communication to its staff, the firm had notified its employees of a possible redundancy exercise on grounds that it was incurring huge losses.

The airlines staff will now have to wait a bit longer to know their fate, but the lifting of the suspension has given them hope of keeping their jobs. 

Silverstone Air has enjoyed a steady growth in the last two years and is promising to be the next domestic flight operator in the country taking on Kenya Airways Jambo Jet, Fly540 and a host of other small local airlines.

Trouble for Silverstone started on October 11, when its aircraft (5Y-IZO) that was departing for Lamu crashed at Wilson Airport. It had five crew and 50 passengers. There were no fatalities. The airline was involved in another incident on October 27 when its other aircraft (5Y-SMT) clipped an EASAX aircraft at the ramp at Wilson Airport.

The aircraft made an unscheduled landing at the Eldoret International Airport where it had been diverted.

This forced KCAA into action, suspending its from operations.