ST JOHN’S, Antigua : Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer said yesterday that Antigua & Barbuda will not participate in REDjet’s bid to return to the skies.
The airline, which suspended flights indefinitely in March due to financial reasons, has been seeking assistance from the governments of Guyana and Barbados to resume operations.
St Kitts and Nevis Tourism Minister Richard Skerritt, who is also chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, urged regional governments to help the Barbados-based low-cost carrier.
In an interview with OBSERVER Media, Spencer said helping the airline was simply not an option.
“The whole question of lending a hand, I don’t think that question arises at all.”
“We always felt that REDjet’s low fare concept was clearly untenable,” Spencer said, adding that he gave the airline credit for trying, “but they were doomed to failure from the very beginning.”
Spencer echoed the sentiments of St Vincent & the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves who said in April that he had no sympathy for the financial problems facing REDjet, and that he had not been informed as to the purpose of the airline within the region.
St Vincent and Antigua & Barbuda are among shareholder governments for regional airline LIAT, and Spencer said he would much prefer to put his funds in that financially embattled company.
“I can not speak for other member states in Caricom, but I could not see how Antigua & Barbuda could sign on to a situation where we are lending support to REDjet. If we have any support to give to any air carrier that would be LIAT,” the Antigua PM said.
In April, a senior Barbados government minister said that efforts were being made to have the low-cost carrier resume operations within a two-month period.
Trinidad and Tobago has, like Barbados, revoked the licences granted to REDjet.
Before the suspension, REDjet operated a direct service from Antigua to Guyana and was to begin flights between VC Bird International and Grantly Adams (Barbados) airports as of today.
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