LIAT 2020 makes inaugural flight to Guyana

Photo: Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, and Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, CEO of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Ramesh Geer, and Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Kamrul Baksh and Antigua and Barbuda delegation cutting the ribbon during the inaugural flight of Liat 2020. (Photo courtesy CMC)

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has underscored the importance of the regional airline, LIAT 2020 to the Caribbean as the St. John’s based airline made its inaugural flight into Guyana on Tuesday evening.

Browne, who was among a number of dignitaries that marked the occasion, said that LIAT 2020 is a far stronger and better-capitalised airline than its predecessor, which went bankrupt in January this year.

“We have invested almost EC$200 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents), making LIAT 2020 the best-capitalised airline operating in the Caribbean today,” Browne said, reassuring the public of the airline’s stability and longevity.

The shareholder governments of the former LIAT (1974) airline are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Antigua and Barbuda is involved in an agreement with the private Nigerian-based airline, Air Peace, in the establishment of LIAT 2020 airline and earlier this year Prime Minister Browne had said that Air Peace would be putting in close to US$65 million, while his government is investing US$20 million.

In addition, the Antigua and Barbuda government said it would pay US$12.1 million into an escrow account for the acquisition of other planes owned by the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

Browne told the ceremony the collaboration with Nigerian-based airline opens up new possibilities for transatlantic travel, with plans to add a larger 125-seater aircraft next year, further extending the airline’s reach beyond the Caribbean.

Guyana’s Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill, spoke of the significance of LIAT 2020’s arrival in Guyana.

He said that Guyana’s aviation sector has experienced substantial growth since 2020, driven by both strategic investments in infrastructure and the country’s growing economic importance on the global stage.

“Every week, LIAT 2020 will add 796 seats with eight flights to Guyana, and that’s a big, big improvement,” Edghill said, noting that the growing demand for air travel was not just about increased passenger numbers but about providing dependable service to the public.

“Guyanese, the business community, and the tourism sector only ask for three things: predictability, reliability, and consistency. We want to know that when we show up, we can get our flight, just like anywhere else in the world,” he said, reinforcing the expectations for the airline’s performance.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Nov 20, CMC –

CMC/gt/ir/2024

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