Grenada reiterates calls for cheaper intra-regional travel

Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell reaffirmed his call for a collective agreement to reduce airline ticket taxes and some other fees attached to intra-regional air travel.
The former Caribbean Community (Caricom) Chairman made the call at the opening of the 29th Intersessional Heads of Government Meeting being held in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Meeting concludes today.
“This would represent a significant instalment to the regional integration account,” Dr Mitchell said.
Regional transport and travel continue to challenge Caricom. Dr Mitchell said the community must take “due responsibility” for failing to properly respond. Addressing connectivity should be an urgent priority for regional leaders, Dr Mitchell added.
Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge also reiterated the call for more cost-effective intra-regional travel. He noted that this was the focus of one of the legal instruments that would be discussed at this Intersessional Meeting.
“There are a number of things the Attorney Generals have been asked to look at which have to do with aviation, trying to ensure that the aviation industry in the Region meets the needs of the Region,” Minister Greenidge said.
Last July, affordable intra-regional travel was addressed at the Caricom Heads of Government Conference in Grenada. Leaders were expected to sign off on an age-old Multilateral Air Services Agreement that sought to pave the way for easier inter-regional travel.
Antigua, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago have all ratified the Multilateral Air Services Agreement, which came into force in 1998.