Money Raised To Repay Air Jamaica Debt

Executive Chairman of Air Jamaica Limited, Vincent Lawrence, has announced that 35 million US dollars were raised between December 23 and 31 to facilitate the repayment of debt incurred by the airline.

The sum includes $5 million of the $20 million, which former chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart had committed to the government as part of the takeover process.

Dr. Lawrence informed that a preliminary review of the financial performance of the company indicated that a loss of some 90 million US dollars had been incurred for 2004, which was substantially higher than had been estimated.

Air Jamaica will arrange for negotiations with HEART/Trust NTA, the National Housing Trust (NHT) and the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to schedule payments of outstanding amounts. Similar arrangements are to be made with the Civil Aviation Authority and the Airports Authority of Jamaica.

On December 23, the government announced that it would be assuming full responsibility and operation of the national airline, following a period of sustained financial loss, which had significantly affected the viability of the national carrier.

Mr. Lawrence also said that other major aspects of the restructuring program including crew and staff restructuring, route rationalization, aircraft lease management, fuel management and improved maintenance and engineering would be addressed as a matter of urgency, the Chairman told journalists.