LIAT meeting with SVG to take place next week

The urgent meeting requested by the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) with the management of regional airline LIAT is expected to take place Wednesday, September 14.

Confirmation of the meeting date came on Wednesday from Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Godfred Pompey.{{more}}

Earlier this week, the Permanent Secretary had written to Diane Shurland, legal counsel at LIAT, requesting “an urgent meeting in St Vincent and the Grenadines” to discuss “the lack of adequate service and poor scheduling” to this country.

According to the Permanent Secretary, “officers at LIAT are now taking pleasure in shifting the blame of LIAT’s poor service to the Ministry and by extension the management of the ET Joshua Aiport, making demands to keep our airport open at times beyond 2 a.m. This is highly unacceptable since some category of staff is required to report to work at the opening of the airport at 5:30 a.m.

“…This situation is not only placing extra strain on staff, but also increasing the frustration of the travelling public. One is now questioning the frequency of these late night flights and the cancellation of services to St Vincent and the Grenadines, to determine whether or not they are deliberate,” the Permanent Secretary said in his letter.

Describing LIAT’s demands for extended operating hours at the ET Joshua Airport as “unbearable and unreasonable,” Pompey, in his letter, also stated that going forward, the Government would bill LIAT for staff overtime, once a request is made to keep the ET Joshua airport open beyond the 11:30 p.m. agreed time.

The ongoing scheduling problems and cancellations facing the Vincentian travelling public were first raised by Prime Minister Dr Ralph E Gonsalves on February 25, 2016, in a letter addressed to the chief executive officer LIAT, David Evans, against the backdrop of a February 17, 2016 letter from LIAT, requesting a further advance of XCD$810,000 by St Vincent and the Grenadines.

In responding to the letter, Prime Minister Gonsalves explained that, among other things, SVG was not well served by the current schedule of the airline.

According to a release on Tuesday from the Prime Minister’s Office, the lack of adequate service and poor scheduling to SVG were again raised with LIAT in a conversation between the Prime Minister on Friday, September 2 and top LIAT officials.

The release said the Government of SVG, a major shareholder of LIAT, is anticipating a quick and amiable resolution to the ongoing situation in the interest of the Vincentian travelling public.