The CEO of the Tourism Authority, Glen Beache, sought to give an explanation as to why Air Canada has pulled out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the summer. On Monday, Beache, speaking at a press conference in Kingstown, said they met with Air Canada on Thursday and stated that it is not the fault of Air Canada or SVG why the airline had to pull its service.
“Late last year, I think it was the Canadian government that changed some of the laws and rules with regard to flight time for crew members, which they shortened it.As a matter of fact, from Toronto, they can go up to Antigua and Barbuda; that’s where they can go without having to overnight their crew members. So Antigua has kept their flights, but places like SVG, which had two flights weekly, it has been very difficult, and in a time like this where all the airlines around the world are facing a shortage of pilots internationally, it amplifies the issue.
Beache said that the situation is hard and that, during their conversation with Air Canada, SVG suggested a way to fix the problem with flights to the island.
“I’m not going to go into the solution here because Air Canada has promised to get back to us by Friday of this week in terms of what their answer is. They understand our concerns, especially at a time when Canada is our fastest-growing source market. For us not to get those flights out of Toronto at least twice weekly for the summer will hit us hard, and they actually apologize for it.”
Beache stated that during his conversation with Air Canada officials, he told them that if SVG does not receive those flights back, they would appreciate an explanation from the airline.
