Business
Fallout from REDjet suspension announcement
(Barbados Nation) – A Day after low-cost carrier REDjet announced the immediate suspension of its flights, one of its primary regional competitors moved hastily to pick up the slack, as Caribbean officials expressed strong disappointment over its seeming demise.
“This is clearly a disappointing development since the Caribbean needs REDjet,” said Caribbean Tourism Organization chairman Ricky Skerritt, who admitted the news caught him totally by surprise.
Skerritt, who is also the minister of tourism of St Kitts and Nevis, said he needed more time to study the implications.
Former St Lucian minister of tourism Allan Chastanet also reacted to the news: “Tell me which airline in the region is making money?”
He also said: “Look how long it took REDjet to get its route rights to fly into St Lucia from Barbados,” while complaining that there was simply too much bureaucracy and official red tape within the regional aviation sector.
He added that to date Caribbean Airlines (CAL) was still awaiting permission from Barbados to fly into St Lucia.
“We have to sit down and start looking at aviation in a holistic sense,” said Chastanet, who wants there to be an open-skies policy that allows “all Caribbean Community (CARICOM) registered companies to fly equally”.
