LIAT should not be scrapped – Antigua Labor Party

(CMC) – The main opposition Antigua Labor Party (ALP) says it will oppose any move to dissolve the regional airline and restart it under a new company.

St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves made the suggestion last week after the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association grounded the carrier for two days over the dismissal of their chairman Captain Michael Blackburn.

“We cannot continue in this manner. My own view is that the shareholders would have to put on the agenda the consideration as to whether LIAT as it is currently configured ought not be to liquidated and another airline, LIAT 2012, put in its place with other shareholders,” Gonsalves said of the airline, which is owned by the governments of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda.

Gonsalves said that the governments of St Lucia and Dominica are also “very interested in becoming shareholders”.

But in a statement, ALP leader Lester Bird said he “rejects completely the suggestion by the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines that LIAT (1974) Ltd. ought to be scrapped and a new LIAT (2012) Ltd replace the existing legal entity”.

The ALP said that while it served as the government here, it had come to the rescue of LIAT several times over two decades, “providing taxpayers’ money and other support so that LIAT could survive”.

It said the ruling United Progressive Party of Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer had provided financial assistance to the Antigua-based airline on two occasions in seven years.

“Antigua and Barbuda, therefore, has more than an academic interest in LIAT. Its headquarters are in Antigua, and more than 500 skilled workers are employed here in Antigua by our regional carrier.

Bird said that the”solution to a labour dispute cannot be the creation of a new legal entity. Prime Minister Gonsalves’ proposal does not address the issue and further complicates the finding of a reasonable solution in quick time.”

The ALP said “LIAT loses nearly one million dollars per day and suffers a loss of confidence by the travelling publics of the 26 destinations it serves. Thousands of passengers have been stranded, and LIAT can no longer accept reservations for future flights, causing the damage to persist long after the crisis has ended.” It added that the “solution lies in the hands of LIAT’s management”.