In a show of gratitude for returning to the skies, LIAT airlines will fly from Antigua and Barbuda to Dominica on November 1. The airline will lift off from VC Bird International Airport in Antigua and land at Douglas Charles Airport in Dominica. The flight is scheduled to celebrate the return of the newly revitalized LIAT and to commemorate Antigua’s national independence on November 1.
The flight from Antigua to Dominica underscores the efforts of Antigua’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit to save the embattled airline from liquidation. Both countries are the major shareholders in the airline and worked ardously to keep the airline from going under – after minor regional shareholders such as St. Vincent and the Grenadines as well as Barbados sold their investments in the airline.
Although LIAT had been struggling for years, the airline company had raked up so much debts in excess of $100 million and was unable to pay its employees and operate at a profit. The coronavirus pandemic and associated border shutdowns in several countries did not help matters since business and travel came to a standstill, further endangering the viability of the company.
The shareholders decided to come to the rescue of the airline when it was apparent that it was going insolvent. Some shareholders suggested liquidating the airline while others suggested reorganizing its operations; eventually, the reorganization group won, and the liquidation group chose to sell off their stakes in the airline.
To further help the reorganization group, it was agreed that LIAT debts be forgiven by shareholders, while the newly-saved regional company come under a new management. St. Vincent agreed to forgive an estimated $14 million, but the amount forgiven by Barbados, Antigua, and Dominica has not been announced yet.
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