Antigua and Barbuda has allocated around US$11.1 million from its 2024 budget to bolster failing airline LIAT 2020 Ltd, the new company name of beleaguered Caribbean carrier LIAT 1974 Ltd, Prime Minister Gaston Browne announced.
“Despite hurdles in 2023 including unserviceable aircraft, unresolved issues for former workers, financial constraints, staff attrition, and disruptions caused by the hurricane season, LIAT 1974 Ltd operated a limited schedule ensuring vital connectivity across destinations with 167 dedicated staff,” Browne said in Parliament recently.
Delivering the $481m national budget to Parliament, Browne said that the airline, which has been under court-appointed administration since July 2020, “has long been an essential thread in the fabric of Caribbean connectivity.”
The shareholders of the cash-strapped carrier are the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Besides Antigua, Bridgetown in Barbados, Dominica Melville Hall, and St Vincent Argyle International, LIAT also serves Basseterre in St Kitts & Nevis, Grenada on the island of Grenada, St Lucia Vigie in St Lucia, St Maarten on Sint Maarten (the Dutch part of the island), and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.
Reports emerged in April that Air Peace was ready to acquire a majority stake in LIAT, following an agreement with the government of Antigua and Barbuda to form a joint venture.
The Antiguan government will spend $10m to “ensure LIAT 2020 Ltd has all the aircraft needed and the appropriate maintenance and operational arrangements are in place for the safe, reliable, and efficient delivery of service to the people of the region,” Browne added.
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