Liat says it is not being dissolved

Liat is not being dissolved and flights to its 15 destinations continue to operate normally, the beleaguered regional airline has said.

Last month, at a press conference following his return from a CARICOM heads of government meeting, the Prime Minister said that unless Liat received an emergency injection of at least US$5 million, the airline was in danger of collapsing.

The airline is collectively owned by the governments of Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica, which control 94.7 per cent of the company’s shares.

TT has a “minuscule” shareholding, Rowley said, so while the other countries would need to work out how to keep the company airborne, TT would not immediately have to contribute to a bailout.

Shareholders and unions held talks on Wednesday at the Barbados Hilton to figure out a way forward for the company. The unions have adamantly refused to to take any pay cuts.

In an e-mail to Newsday late Wednesday evening, Liat’s corporate Communications manager Shavar Maloney, confirmed the meeting saying, “The discussion surrounded the way forward for the airline including proposals for cost cutting and revenue generation including proposed salary cuts.”

Newsday had also asked if the company had received any bailout money from its respective shareholder governments or if there were plans to close down the airline.

Maloney said he could not answer at this time since discussions about capital contributions are ongoing.