Representatives of LIAT’s management and the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) met Wednesday at LIAT’s headquarters in Antigua to discuss issues relating to the industrial action by LIALPA on Monday that led to several flights being cancelled and hundreds of passengers being stranded.
The meeting was conducted in a cordial atmosphere with LIALPA’s team led by its Chairman, Captain Carl Burke, while LIAT’s team was led by acting Chief Executive Officer Julie Reifer-Jones, LIAT said on Thursday.
“The LIAT acting CEO welcomed the LIALPA delegation and it was agreed that the meeting would serve as a forum to listen to LIALPA’s concerns and to determine the way forward.
“The company’s management acknowledged that there are legitimate concerns on the part of LIALPA and it was agreed that both sides would continue discussions in an effort to address the issues,” the airline said in a statement.
“LIAT continues to seek to restore normal operations and efforts to get dislocated passengers to their various destinations as quickly as possible are on-going.
“LIAT acknowledges with regret the inconvenience and disruption passengers throughout the region have experienced,” the statement further said.
Meanwhile, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister and chair of LIAT shareholder governments, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, said Thursday that he is “absolutely fed up” with the constant industrial action plaguing the regional airline.
He told the Caribbean Media Corporation that he was he was “fed up” with the “self inflicted wounds” on the Antigua-based carrier.
“Maybe everybody simply needs to take a breather and read the Psalms or Proverbs,” he said
“The amount of money that we are putting in this airline, the shareholders, and more people are getting interested. I just talked to the President of the Regional Council of Martinique and he’s interested in getting on board as an equity partner in LIAT, but this kinda foolishness must stop,” Gonsalves further told CMC.
LIAT pilots walked off their jobs on Monday and their union blamed “misguided and ill-informed decisions” taken by the airline’s management for the action.
LIAT’s major shareholder governments are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St, Vincent and the Grenadines.
Sell! Sell! Sell!
The island owners should encourage competition, but they keep defending this albatross and it keeps screwing the same people who are paying for it
I know the full story and do not blaim the pilots for striking, it was 100% managment created.
Can anyone inform me why Caribbean Airlines hasn’t been invited to service SVG? Is seems to be landing at all the other neighboring islands, and with big planes too.
With or without the pilots strike, we want rid of LIAT. It’s all very well the PM saying he is fed up, we have been fed up for years.
Liat is weapon against tourism, once a tourist flies them, they rarely want to do so a second time. It’s not just since the new aircraft, it’s been like that for years, LIAT is a man made disaster. A distaster made worse with the support of people like Gonsalves.
We should split LIAT up and sell them out.
Martinique is a department of France, it is a part therefore of France, a member of the European Union.
I do not believe for a ‘NANO’ [what is the latest news on Nano?] second that they will get involved in a loss making fifth rate airline such as LIAT. French tourist would probably stop going to Martinique if they had to fly any route which included LIAT.
Only the Marxist’s would do such a thing, so Mr Gonslaves, stick to your original plan and link with Conviasa Air, the Venezuelan State owned airline. You know the one you told that would be our flag carrying airline at Argyle.