Arthur aiming to make LIAT more viable

The hefty airport and airline ticket taxes imposed by regional governments are pushing LIAT deeper into a sea of debt.

Newly appointed chairman of the regional carrier and former Prime Minister Professor Owen Arthur made it clear the current situation could not continue if the airline was to survive.

A caller on a radio programme on Thursday afternoon, Arthur said he would be meeting with the shareholder governments in a bid to make LIAT a more viable enterprise.

“There are a number of matters relating to LIAT that only these governments can help with. I am not putting all of the responsibility on the governments to deal with LIAT’s problems, but some of them are in fact problems that can only be resolved by the governments…It is a fact that the largest proportion of a cost of an airline ticket on LIAT very often is government taxes, fees and other charges and these are things which must be discussed in conference,” he stressed.

Citing the increases in departure taxes across several islands, he illustrated these had moved in some cases from as low as of US $10 to as high as US$77.

“These increases in taxes, fees and charges explain why the cost of LIAT tickets to the travelling public in the Caribbean are as high as they have become, and it is important if LIAT is going to be put on a more viable footing – where more of its liability comes from increased business – the extent to these taxes, fees and charges have to be addressed,” Arthur added.

“If the governments of the region want citizens to get lower plane fares, they have to make the determination that they have to be part of the solution,” he continued.

Need for ‘strong, clear action’
The former PM and Finance Minister insisted there are several steps to be taken to get the airline back on a firm financial footing, outlined in several studies of the carrier.

“LIAT has not been without a number of studies, but what it needs now is strong, clear action by the board and the shareholder governments to put it right. And I say this in the context that this region needs an intra-regional carrier and it is going to be very difficult given the experience of airlines to make it highly profitable, but we can make it efficient and make it provide a public good on a behalf of the region at a reasonable price. We want to start that process because the fares are simply too high,” he asserted.
(JMB)