Caribbean
Liat is about to be liquidated – and revived
The regional airline, which is operated by eleven Caribbean states, was already struggling before Corona. Now Liat is being liquidated and born again.
Liat aircraft: «Hundreds of jobs» about to disappear.
Liat aircraft: «Hundreds of jobs» about to disappear.
Liat has been through turbulence for a long time. Last year, the Caribbean regional airline was already on the brink of collapse. But it was saved by the bell. Grenada came in as a new shareholder.
But now Liat is back at the same point – because of the corona crisis. Because the entire fleet of ten short-haul planes is on the ground, high losses are incurred. Now Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Liat co-owner Antigua and Barbuda, wants to pull the ripcord.
Same name, same base
«Everything indicates that Liat will be dissolved», says the politician according to Barbados Today. Under the same name and with the same seat in Antigua and Barbuda’s capital St. John, a new airline is to be created from the liquidated Liat.
According to the prime minister, the successor is to be considerably smaller so that it can survive. «Hundreds of people will lose their jobs, it is inevitable,» says Browne. In a few days representatives of the owner states will decide on the planned liquidation.
Problems for years
Liat currently serves about 15 destinations in the Caribbean with five ATR 72-600 and five ATR 42-600. The number of passengers has been falling steadily since 2010. Last year, the airline reported a loss of the equivalent of 3.95 million euros.