This archive report was first published on 19 November 2019.
Published on November 19, 2019, Silverstone Airline has ceased operations and laid off its entire crew following a series of incidents and the grounding of its fleet by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
The airline's management cited irreparable damage to its brand equity as a result of mass cancellations of tickets and the inability to continue operating commercially. In a letter to pilots, they stated, 'This decision has been made as a result of the recent decision by Kenya Civil Aviation Authority to ground the company’s fleet, thereby grounding our passenger services.'
The airline's troubles began when the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority suspended eight of its aircraft for investigation into recent mishaps. This came after a series of incidents, including a plane's rear wheel coming off during takeoff from Lodwar Airstrip on October 28, and a plane crashing off the Wilson Airport runway on October 11, injuring two passengers.
At the time of its shutdown, Silverstone Airline had a fleet of 11 planes and had been on the spot over several incidents at local airports.
