By Shermain Bique-Charles
Antigua and Barbuda (Antigua Observer) – Fresh decisions concerning Caribbean airline LIAT are coming out of the just-concluded Caricom heads of government summit in Suriname – among them the appointment of a consultant and plans for a future meeting among regional leaders.
St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves told media at the end of the summit that extensive discussions had been held with the leaders present, including Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Barbados’ Mia Mottley, about the future of the troubled carrier.
“A discussion has taken place…We are going to address the issue of a regional air carrier of some kind; it may well be the revival of LIAT in some form or the other, but we have to get a consultant in aviation to put together the framework.
“It is a matter of urgency for us to move on,” Dr Gonsalves said.
The St Vincent PM was given “certain” responsibilities to coordinate the new idea.
“We are going to have a further discussion on the matter at a leadership level sometime between July 20 and 30. I am not sure where the meeting will be held,” he said.
Government heads also “broadly” discussed some residual issues from LIAT (1974) Limited, but Dr Gonsalves said that these talks were inconclusive.
