Dominica is committed to launching LIAT 2020 (5L, Antigua) as a vital service provider in the Caribbean together with the government of Antigua and Barbuda, but other states in the region remain sceptical, Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said.
"I am saying Dominica is prepared to play our part financially... We can't live without LIAT for even one day, let alone forever. You just can't go anywhere," he told local media after a cabinet meeting.
He praised Antigua and Barbuda's PM Gaston Browne for his "heroic" attempts to "get at least a few planes flying" for a revived LIAT. Browne recently revealed that most countries in the Caribbean were unwilling to finance the restart of the airline, which put its future in limbo. Skerrit confirmed that his colleagues from other states seemed to believe there were enough privately-owned assets in the region.
However, the Dominican PM stressed that LIAT was necessary to complement the capacity provided by privately-owned airlines. In particular, he highlighted the need for more inter-Caribbean connectivity, urging other states to pledge funds for the carrier.
"We can't book a flight for tonight this afternoon. A flight has to be booked months in advance. You have to go to Miami International to get from Dominica to Grenada. How many of us have an American visa? This is a regional emergency, and we need to travel between regions," Skerrit stressed.
As such, he said believed that investment in LIAT should be treated as support for economic growth rather than just for the airline.
LIAT (Antigua and Barbuda) (Antigua), which was owned by the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Barbados, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, went into administration in July 2020. The regional carrier restarted after a few months with emergency funding but its financial woes continued. In August 2022, shareholders agreed to liquidate the airline and move its assets to newco LIAT 2020, but the launch of the newco remains hindered by the lack of a long-term funding plan.
LIAT currently operates three ATR42-600s owned by LIAT 2020, the ch-aviation fleets module shows.
