Despite St Vincent and the Grenadines not being a part of the current LIAT operations out of Antigua, the country is still paying debts on the planes.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves on Sunday said St Vincent and Barbados are still paying their respective debts.
Gonsalves said LIAT had several planes, three of them were purchased and the CDB has the lien on those planes.
“Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and SVG in respect of shareholding have debt payments. Antigua is paying just about 30% of that debt. Because even though both of us had asked the bank when we gave Antigua our shares for $1 that be death be transferred to Antigua and Barbuda the banks said they’re not doing that”.
Gonsalves said the banks would have preferred to have those who have been paying all the time continue paying and what is happening is a limited kind of two-plane operation.
“When people were critiquing LIAT in relation to St Vincent and the Grenadines we were getting 42 flights per week in and out of the St Vincent Grenadines. And of course, at Carnival and Christmas, we got more”, Gonsalves said.
The Antigua Observer reported last week that efforts to save and revitalise the embattled LIAT could get a massive boost within months, as new plans for the airline’s expansion are drawn up.
Among the proposed adjustments is that “any destination requiring more flights than has been deemed necessary would make a special payment to realise its ambition”.
In the proposed ‘new LIAT’ as well, “salaries, wages and other emoluments will take up a smaller part of its cost of operations” and it is likely the carrier will continue to operate with a reduced fleet – three aircraft are being utilised currently, compared to 10 aircraft prior to its collapse.
Another forthcoming adjustment, according to the report, is expanding the responsibilities to LIAT, as well as the rewards from the carrier to include all benefitting countries.
Prime Minister Gonsalves at the recently concluded 43 CARICOM meeting said the establishment of a new regional carrier is “a matter of urgency”, especially with renewed efforts to facilitate free movement within CARICOM.
It may well be a revival of LIAT in some form or another, Gonsalves said.
