Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has confirmed that the four major shareholders of LIAT 1974, have taken a collective decision to liquidate the embattled regional carrier.
The decision was taken when all major shareholders of the cash-strapped regional carrier met virtually to discuss the future of the airline on Tuesday.
On Wednesday Prime Minister Gaston Browne told reporters that LIAT is considered by heads as a public good, a social good “that contributes significantly to regional connectivity and makes a net positive economic contribution to regional economies.”
He said national commitments were given in support of a new, efficient and expanded LIAT 2020, “to satisfy the immediate regional travel demand.”
PM Browne also said that those present at the meeting also agreed to engage the services of an aviation consultancy firm, to develop a long-term plan to ensure the sustainability of LIAT and the provision of affordable air transportation.
Meanwhile, pressure is still mounting amid demands for shareholder governments to settle outstanding payments owed to former LIAT employees.
Hundreds of LIAT workers were terminated in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the airline’s long-standing financial woes by grounding it for several months.
