ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The chief executive officer of LIAT 2020, Hafsah Abdulsalam, said she remained optimistic that the airline, which launched its first commercial flight on Tuesday, will play a significant role in the future development of the regional integration movement.
Speaking at the launch ceremony held at the VC Bird International Airport, Abdulsalam said she was pleased to represent “the other half of our shareholding,” an obvious reference to the Nigerian-based Air Peace.
The new entity was formed in partnership with Air Peace, a private Nigerian airline founded in 2013.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that Air Peace would invest close to US$65 million, while the government is investing US$20 million. The airline provides four of the seven aircraft utilized in LIAT 2020 to service the routes.
“This is a joint venture of two great partnerships,” she said, adding that the inaugural flight “represents a significant milestone in our journey flying the Caribbean people and beyond.
“The inaugural flight is a testament of our hard work…against all the headwinds that have been thrown against them (staff and colleagues),” she said, adding, “As we look ahead, this flight is only the beginning.
“Our commitment, innovation, and growth will continue to propel us to new heights. We are excited about the future and the endless possibilities,” she added.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Tourism and Aviation, Charles “Max” Fernandez, said LIAT remains an essential stakeholder in regional integration and travel.
“No matter how hard we had beaten up on LIAT through the years, at the end of the day, LIAT has always been there for all of us, and I can tell you there has been one in almost every family in the Caribbean who has had a family member working with LIAT.
“So LIAT is an integral part of the Caribbean …and we need to ensure if we are going to have regional integration, we need to have that type of connectivity right through the islands,” Fernandez said, adding that Parliament ad to meet in an emergency session on a Saturday to prevent LIAT “going into a graveyard.”
Fernandez said that several naysayers, including some regional leaders, “were signing the death song of LIAT…and at least one of them came full circle and was heard to say we need LIAT.”
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