Dominica is open to investing in any airline that plans to service the Caribbean, according to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. Recently he was a special guest speaker on the DBS Talking Point Program. His remarks were made in response to a recent LIAT declaration.
Ownership of the regional airline LIAT (1974) Limited by the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Dominica will result in the permanent termination of all commercial flight activities on January 24, 2024. Cleveland Seaforth, the court-appointed administrator, made this judgment after giving it much thought and reviewing the current operations.
- Advertisement -
PM Skerrit noted, “I told Dominicans that if LIAT doesn’t fly for one day we are in trouble in the Caribbean. And I always held the view that for you to have any sustained airline business in the Caribbean among these islands to be serviced properly governments must be involved.”
He argues that governments ought to look at funding a specific amount of these airlines’ operating costs. He went on to say that despite the backlash from the public, Dominica made an investment in LIAT for this reason.
“And Dominica is still prepared to invest in any airline that will serve the Caribbean, because we believe that it is absolutely important,” Skerrit claimed.
The PM further added, “And my view is, let us come together as governments, ok we need $20 million US dollars to start the airline, let us have a strategic plan for this airline. Let us put in good management, an Executive Chairman, good board members, and let the government stay out of the running of the airline and let the board and the management implement the strategic plan.”
Prime Minister Skerrit expressed his disbelief in governments controlling anything.
“This is why we do not own things in the private sector as a government,” he remarked.
“Anything we invest in, that is supposed to be in the private sector is because there is a gap and I don’t believe in the government running anything. The government should not be running anything, so we should leave it to private sector people to run these airlines.”
In the meanwhile, Skerrit disclosed that talks are underway with a few islands in the OECS line to determine how to collaborate on implementing initiatives that would improve the circumstances in the Caribbean.
He asserted that without interregional transit is addressed, the Caribbean cannot expand to the degree that it desires.
Prior to going into administration on July 24, 2020, LIAT (1974) Limited was providing services to a number of regional locations. The only places it presently serves are Anguilla, Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, and St. Maarten. Since then, it has reduced the scope of its activities.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda stated last month at his nation’s national budget presentation that his government has accepted the duty to reorganize and revive LIAT, “with a vision of returning the airline to the regional skies”.
Additionally, LIAT has always been a crucial component of the Caribbean’s connection, according to Browne.
According to Browne, LIAT 1974 Limited only operated a restricted schedule in 2023 despite several obstacles, such as unserviceable aircraft, unresolved issues for former employees, financial constraints, staff attrition, and disruptions brought on by hurricane season. LIAT 1974 Limited resumed flying operations on November 1, 2020.
With 167 committed employees, the airline provided essential connection between destinations.
