Browne Administration makes offer to purchase three planes for new LIAT; observers ask where are other shareholders

On the matter of LIAT 2020, another set of talks between Prime
Minister Gaston Browne

and officials from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is
reportedly set for today, February 1.

Reports say that discussions began on Tuesday, January 30, via a
Zoom meeting that included representatives of the LIAT
shareholders.
 
Allegedly, Browne has made an offer to purchase the three aircraft
that CDB owns, which were initially purchased for the now defunct
LIAT (1974) Ltd.

The Government is hoping these planes can be utilized by LIAT
(2020) Ltd. 
  
Reportedly, following the consummation of this sale, the three
aircraft “will form the basis of the fleet that will cause LIAT 2020 to
become a viable entity,” this week’s Cabinet Notes say.

The Administration has said it will partner with the privately owned
Nigerian carrier Air Peace to provide “the much-needed intra-
regional and extra-regional services to move people and cargo
throughout the Caribbean.”
 
Based on a reported deal, Air Peace will hold 70 percent of the
shares in the new LIAT 2020 while the remaining 30 percent is
controlled by Antigua and Barbuda – to be divided among the other
shareholders when they are announced.

Given this allocation, locals are asking what, exactly, the other
shareholders – especially Air Peace – are bringing to the table, and
why Antigua and Barbuda appears to be “the only partner out front.”
Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle has called for information about
the deal struck with Air Peace – which has had considerable
challenges of its own – since he is not confident that the
Administration’s plans for a viable regional carrier are not a pipe
dream.

Pringle also continues to plead with the Administration on behalf of
the former LIAT workers, urging that their severance and other
entitlements should be honoured expeditiously.
 
LIAT (1974) Ltd. took to the skies for the last time on January 22,
2024, after 50 years’ service the Caribbean.