LIAT 2020 (5L, Antigua) is set to begin commercial operations in early August, according to Antigua & Barbuda’s Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office, Lionel Hurst, who added that the first flight would be to Barbuda’s new international airport, built in the vicinty of Barbuda Codrington, a public airport which Hurricane Irma seriously damaged in September 2017.
In a short statement issued following a weekly Cabinet meeting, the ministers said they “held a very brief discussion on LIAT (2020) and the possible startup date for its re-commencement of commercial flights.” They added that while “a precise date has not yet been decided, the Cabinet is confident LIAT will take to the skies in early August 2024.”
Following the meeting, Lionel Hurst told local media that everything was ready in Barbuda for receiving flights. “When LIAT takes off from Antigua as a commercial carrier, the first place it will land will be in Barbuda.”
However, digital daily Barbados Today reported that the government is still waiting for the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to relinquish its interest in an escrow fund and use the money to fulfil the payment of former LIAT (Antigua and Barbuda) employees who are still waiting for their severance payments after the carrier ceased operations. The CDB has distanced itself from this, saying its role was only to provide consent for the sale of three aircraft formerly used by the defunct LIAT 1974 Ltd, which it has already done.
LIAT 2020 was granted its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) by the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) in June 2024.
