The liquidation of the Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) carrier has left a vacant place for another airline to fill the existing gap, in order to provide adequate air-transport throughout the region.
Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) – Bombardier (De Havilland Canada) Dash 8 (DHC-8-311) – V2-LES (c/n 412)
A few days ago, it was revealed that LIAT would be liquidised owing to substantial debts owed.
According to former Caricom Chair Mia Mottley on Friday, however, six airlines have already expressed interest in flying the southern Caribbean routes.
During her outgoing ceremony as Chairperson, Mottley said, “Since announcements being made earlier this week about LIAT’s demise, six airlines have come forward offering to fill the space…We are satisfied that these six airlines can more than fill the immediate gap, particularly given the reduced travel within COVID-19.”
These carriers were listed as SVG Air and One Caribbean from St Vincent and the Grenadines; Caribbean Airlines Limited headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago; Inter-Caribbean from the Turks and Caicos; United States-based Silver Airways; and French-based Air Antilles which flies primarily between Martinique, Guadeloupe and Paris.
Due to the financial dent left by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Barbadian Prime Minister insisted that they will work with stakeholders to ease other burdens which have surfaced while addressing the health concerns of their respective countries. At the moment, Governments have already expended millions of dollars to enable systems to protect the population while suffering from reduced revenues.
“I hope that we would be able to work with them and other Private Sector players who have also expressed an interest to being able to see how they can work either on their own or with some of the existing players in order to be able to fill the gap. Simply because Governments have to now use their funds to be able to deal with health expenditure, water, other forms of transport, to be able to deal with the fact that our tourism sector, as well as our vulnerable population, are all requiring us to hold their hands because they have come to zero revenue,” Mottley indicated.
She said they are committed to safe and reliable access to air travel within the next few weeks and countries which can stimulate such should do so immediately.
“As Heads of Government earlier this week, we agreed that those countries that are in a position to help stimulate air travel through the reduction of airline taxes should immediately reflect and see how they can revise so to do. Similarly, to the extent that licenses and air operator certificates are needed for some of these Private Sector airlines to connect our countries that we should process to assist as far as possible.”
Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne had said during a local radio show that LIAT would have lost about EC$12 million and with planes grounded due to COVID-19, they were losing money through continued payments of leases and revenues.
