BVI Wants Air Carriers to Take Up the Slack Left by LIAT

Caribbean News…
05 July 2020 8:32pm
LIAT

The government of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) is in the process of having talks with other carriers to fill the void if regional airline LIAT is liquidated. 

According to The Jamaica Gleaner, British Virgin Islands Airport Authority chairman Bevis Sylvester has indicated the talks are being held to ensure that the territory is not left at a disadvantage.  

“We are currently in heightened discussions with InterCaribbean Airlines and Caribbean Airlines with the hope that those two private partners will be able to expand their BVI routes beyond the pre-COVID structure so that we can quickly fill the void left behind by LIAT.”

Sylvester, in a recent statement, said the authority is “more than ever cognizant” of the need to expand the runway at the territory’s main airport on Beef Island.

He said such an expansion will significantly boost local tourism and “will mean more jobs, both in the short and long- term, for islanders.

In a statement last month, Premier Andrew Fahie announced that representatives from Caribbean Airlines had visited the Beef Island airport “with a view to adding the BVI to their route network.

LIAT has been challenged with the COVID-19 pandemic and a review of the state of the airline has shown that it is “unable to pay its debts.”

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