The prevailing thought of the majority of heads of government is that there are enough assets to serve our area, the agency said in press releases.
In fact, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) did a study and found at the meeting I attended in St. Lucia that they are mostly owned by the private sector, he added.
They see no need to invest in national or regional airlines, Browne said.
The leaders of the Caribbean community concluded their 44th regular summit in the Bahamas last February without moving forward with a solution to the problems plaguing Caribbean travelers following the bankruptcy of LIAT airline.
“This is an ongoing discussion where we have tasked the BDC to study and research the current challenge and make some recommendations on how we can overcome the problem,” said Dominica Premier Roosevelt Skerrit.
LIAT (1974) Limited, headquartered in Antigua and Barbuda, entered administration in July 2020 following increased indebtedness and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since November of this year, it has been operating with reduced hours and a staff limited to Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Cristóbal, Santa Lucía and San Martín.
The airline is owned by the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali said last February that his government had been contacted to help reactivate LIAT and that he wanted to be “part of the solution for regional air transport”.
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