CARICOM Leaders Urged to Support LIAT Re-fleeting Loan

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders are being urged to support a loan application by the regional airline, LIAT, for funds to undertake a re-fleeting exercise so as to sustain its operations and improve services.

A CARICOM Secretariat statement said that regional transport ministers who met in St. Vincent and the Grenadines last week, have agreed to put forward to the regional leaders a proposal that they support the LIAT loan application to the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

The statement gave no details regarding the costs of the re-fleeting exercise, but LIAT which flies to 21 destinations in the region and has 1,000 flights weekly, said it was seeking to acquire French-made 48- and 63-seat aircraft.

The statement said that the transport ministers had also recommended that air transport services be included among the group of essential services and the necessary legislation be enacted to give effect to this reality.

Last month, LIAT’s chief executive officer, Ian Brunton, said that the aviation industry should also be classified as an essential service, with legislated restricted rights to strike”.

Brunton said that tourism is the mainstay of the majority of the region’s economies and air services connect the countries of the Caribbean, feeding that primary revenue stream.

The CARICCOM statement said that the regional transport ministers agreed to the establishment of a team chaired by St. Vincent and the Grenadines, to review elements of a draft policy or air and maritime transport and asked Member States to submit their comments by the end of June.

Source: Caribbean 360