St John's, Antigua (TDN) -- Prime Miniswter Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica has agreed to invest EC $8 million into the cash strapped Leeward Island Air Transport (LIAT} airlines. The disclosure was made by Antigua’s prime minister Baldwin Spencer in a press interview over the weekend.
The announcement comes just one week after LIAT suffered over EC $35 million in losses when a hangar at its headquarters in Antigua went up in flames resulting in the loss of an aircraft. LIAT subsequently announced that it was insured for up to EC $35 million.
Skerrit’s investment in LIAT will earn Dominica an equity stake in the airline joining Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines as the other shareholders in the Region’s longest serving airline.
Baldwin told the Antigua Observer newspaper that Skerrit will invest EC $ 4 million within a “week or so.” He said that he welcomed the investment particularly at this crucial time in the history of the airline. The Antiguan prime minister also revealed that St Lucia has expressed interest in investing in LIAT.
For many years now LIAT has not reported a profit from its operations and relies heavily on the financial support from its shareholders to maintain its operations. Many in Dominica believe that Skerrit’s assistance to LIAT is motivated from a desire to ensure that the airline continues to operate especially in light of the pending shut down of American Airlines the only other airline operating and out of Dominica.
