ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the island seems to be on its own regarding establishing a new company to replace LIAT (1974) Limited, which collapsed in 2020.
The Antigua-based LIAT (1974) Limited entered into administration in July 2020 following increased debt and the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The airline is owned by the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, St Vincent, and the Grenadines. A downsized version of the carrier has been operating a reduced schedule with a limited workforce since November 2020.
But Browne said he now recognizes that “Antigua and Barbuda is practically standing alone in terms of having an entity owned by a group of governments.
“What is the prevailing thinking now is that most heads believe there are sufficient assets within the region. A study was done by the Caribbean Development Bank and the OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States), and that was the meeting I attended in St. Lucia. The consensus was that there are sufficient assets to service the region.”
Browne said there are “primarily private sector held assets, and they don’t see the need for the governments to invest in any national or regional airline.”
Last month, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders ended their 44th regular summit in the Bahamas, nowhere closer to solving the woes regional travelers experienced following the intra-regional airline’s collapse, LIAT, in 2020.
“It is an ongoing discussion we have mandated the (Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to explore and to examine the current challenge that we have and to come up with some recommendations on how we can overcome the travel issue of intra-regional travel,” Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit told reporters.
Before entering into administration, LIAT had been servicing several regional destinations and has since scaled down its operations and is now servicing Anguilla, Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, San Juan Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, and St. Maarten.
In February, the Guyana government said while it has not committed to investing in the cash-strapped regional airline LIAT, it nonetheless wants to be “part of a solution for regional air transport.”
President Dr. Irfaan Ali told the Guyana-based online publication Demerara Waves Online News last month that his administration has been approached to help revive the Antigua-based LIAT.
The governments of Antigua, Barbuda, St Vincent, and the Grenadines have been talking with his administration about a “possible role” in a revived regional carrier.
“They have asked us to be part of a solution. Of course, part of a solution might be looking at investment, looking at the outstanding debts to Guyana,” he said, noting that countries have not yet decided what form Guyana’s assistance would be.
Browne also disclosed that his government would only entertain discussions with trade unions on severance payments to former LIAT workers once other shareholder governments are involved in the talks. The former employees are owed millions of dollars (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) in severance and other arrears.
Browne said the local trade union was unreasonable in calling on his administration to meet 100 percent of the outstanding payments to the workers.
“Well, I suspect down the road, if this issue is to be settled, there may have to be some collaboration, some joint effort to engage all of the shareholding governments because I don’t see us entering into any discussion with a union about 100 percent….”
Browne said last Friday that is government provided one million US dollars to LIAT to repair one of the airlines, adding, “so you could see the commitment and the commitment for Antigua and Barbuda is helping regional people connect.”
In January, the St. Lucia government made good on its promise to pay compensation to former employees of the cash-strapped regional airline, with Labour Minister Dr. Virginia Albert-Poyotte advising them to use the benefits wisely.
The former local LIAT employees received bond certificates from the government, which are cash redeemable and can be used as collateral to secure loans.
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