{"id":21128,"date":"2018-10-23T15:59:44","date_gmt":"2018-10-23T19:59:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=21128"},"modified":"2018-10-23T15:59:47","modified_gmt":"2018-10-23T19:59:47","slug":"gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/","title":{"rendered":"Gonsalves says there are weaknesses and limitations with LIAT"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"antig-3872115452\" class=\"antig-ecab antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/discoverflow.co\/web\/antigua\" aria-label=\"ANU CVP Digital Broadband 1200x400_1\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:100\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:342\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:256\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1201\" height=\"401\"   \/><\/a><\/div><div id=\"antig-1129036297\" class=\"antig-before-content antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/medicalbenefitsscheme\" aria-label=\"ce741a73-c70c-446b-af7f-da2abe2b62bb\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1200\/h:400\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce741a73-c70c-446b-af7f-da2abe2b62bb.jpeg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1200\/h:400\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce741a73-c70c-446b-af7f-da2abe2b62bb.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:100\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce741a73-c70c-446b-af7f-da2abe2b62bb.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:341\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce741a73-c70c-446b-af7f-da2abe2b62bb.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:256\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce741a73-c70c-446b-af7f-da2abe2b62bb.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1200\" height=\"400\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says while the regional airline, LIAT, has made an invaluable contribution to Caribbean development, the Antigua-based airline has been challenged by some weaknesses and limitations.<\/p><div id=\"antig-2157202708\" class=\"antig-content_5 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.antiguabarbudaculinarymonth.com\/\" aria-label=\"culinary\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1920\/h:843\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1920\/h:843\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:132\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:450\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:337\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:675\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1920\/h:842\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1124\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Gonsalves, who is chairman of the shareholder governments, told reporters that he feared that \u201cif we don\u2019t seek to enhance those strengths and possibilities and simply get the weaknesses and the limitations out of the way we are not likely to have something which is sustainable\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cananewsonline.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/LIAt-Gonsalves.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cananewsonline.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/LIAt-Gonsalves.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-208771\"\/><\/a><figcaption>Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves (second from right) flanked by the prime ministers of Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Lucia at LIAT news conference<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>He said that this is not \u201cjust fancy words this is a reality check\u201d.<\/p><div id=\"antig-1697802771\" class=\"antig-content_4 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/discoverflow.co\/web\/antigua\" aria-label=\"ANU CVP Digital Broadband 1200x400_1\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:100\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:342\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:256\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1201\" height=\"401\"   \/><\/a><\/div><div id=\"antig-1238353724\" class=\"antig-content_12 antig-entity-placement\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1320\/h:730\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_5614.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1320\/h:730\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_5614.jpg 1320w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:166\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_5614.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:566\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_5614.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:425\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_5614.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:696\/h:385\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_5614.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1320\" height=\"730\"   \/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Shareholder governments of the regional airline met here on Monday to discuss its future amidst concerns that the underlying premise of the discussions is that the travelling public must be better served and intra-regional travel encouraged.<\/p><div id=\"antig-4055791378\" class=\"antig-content antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.antiguabarbudaculinarymonth.com\/\" aria-label=\"culinary\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1920\/h:843\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1920\/h:843\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:132\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:450\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:337\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:675\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1920\/h:842\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/culinary-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1124\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The meeting was also expected to discuss a number of options intended to secure the future viability of the regional carrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The major shareholders of LIAT are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.<\/p><div id=\"antig-503536110\" class=\"antig-content_2 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.courts.com\/antigua\/\" aria-label=\"IMG_0783\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:500\/h:500\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/IMG_0783.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:500\/h:500\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/IMG_0783.png 500w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:300\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/IMG_0783.png 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:150\/h:150\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/IMG_0783.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI believe that we all recognise that governments across the region face many awesome challenges,\u201d he said, noting that the new Mia Mottley administration in Barbados \u201chad to take some very courageous decision\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bridgetown has had to lay off hundreds of public servants and has entered into an Extended Fund Facility agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for nearly US$300 million in a bid to turn around its ailing economy.<\/p><div id=\"antig-3679110211\" class=\"antig-content_3 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.courts.com\/antigua\/\" aria-label=\"IMG_1115\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:864\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG_1115.jpeg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:864\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG_1115.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:240\/h:300\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG_1115.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:819\/h:1024\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG_1115.jpeg 819w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:960\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG_1115.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe see it happening in other countries in the region including the OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States), those of us who are shareholders. So it would be strange indeed for us to be taking all these serious decisions, take them in very challenging circumstances (and) that somehow LIAT is a sacred cow and is exempt from what applies to other institutions,\u2019 Gonsalves said.<\/p><div id=\"antig-150765731\" class=\"antig-content_6 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/discoverflow.co\/web\/antigua\" aria-label=\"ANU CVP Digital Broadband 1200x400_1\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:100\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:342\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:256\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1201\" height=\"401\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Gonsalves, said it was for that reason that shareholder governments decided to establish a technical committee, which presented a report regarding aviation in the Eastern Caribbean sub-region with an emphasis on LIAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey have made certain recommendations as to possible options and at the last meeting of the shareholders, a few months ago, the principal shareholders accepted the recommendation of one of the options as possibly the most viable of them\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat is to say an option other than an option for a private sector takeover which was not realistic in the circumstances and the second option, closing the airline and start a new one. It was felt that it had some challenges, particularly in a transitional period, possible and doable but difficult,\u2019 Gonsalves said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But he told reporters \u201cwe have done difficult things before and there were some other options which would open the way for private sector involvement but with other shareholder governments coming to have possible commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gonsalves said that St Lucia and Grenada are willing to commit to the restructuring, providing that it is carried out in a particular manner that will garner the support of their respective parliaments and country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said that while LIAT has made an \u201cimmense contribution\u201d to the region, despite its weaknesses and limitations, if a significant change is to be made, then there must be cooperation from all involved, including stakeholders, unions and workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLIAT has made an immense contribution to this region and continues to make an immense contribution but there are weaknesses and limitations despite its strengths and possibilities and I fear that if we don\u2019t seek to enhance those strengths and possibilities and to simply get the weaknesses and limitations out of the way, we are not likely to have something which is sustainable and this is not just fancy words, this is a reality check,\u201d Gonsalves said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said that there are other steps to be taken in the restructuring process, which includes consultancy on matters within the report, so as to generate timelines and give detailed information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The meeting here was also attended by the President of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), William Warren Smith.<\/p>\n<div id=\"antig-422348719\" class=\"antig-in-comments_2 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/@hadeedmotorsltd\" aria-label=\"Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1000\/h:250\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1000\/h:250\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2.png 1000w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:75\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2.png 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:192\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1000\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says while the regional airline, LIAT, has made an invaluable contribution to Caribbean development, the Antigua-based airline has been challenged by some weaknesses and limitations. Gonsalves, who is chairman of the shareholder governments, told reporters that he feared that \u201cif we don\u2019t seek to enhance those strengths and possibilities and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-tourism"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.1 (Yoast SEO v24.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Gonsalves says there are weaknesses and limitations with LIAT - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gonsalves says there are weaknesses and limitations with LIAT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says while the regional airline, LIAT, has made an invaluable contribution to Caribbean development, the Antigua-based airline has been challenged by some weaknesses and limitations. Gonsalves, who is chairman of the shareholder governments, told reporters that he feared that \u201cif we don\u2019t seek to enhance those strengths and possibilities and [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-23T19:59:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-10-23T19:59:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/D931DE78-0672-400C-A913-9BB352601FF1-2041-0000020DB2508190.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"Gonsalves says there are weaknesses and limitations with LIAT\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-23T19:59:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-10-23T19:59:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/\"},\"wordCount\":696,\"commentCount\":7,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1620\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/D931DE78-0672-400C-A913-9BB352601FF1-2041-0000020DB2508190.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Tourism\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/\",\"name\":\"Gonsalves says there are weaknesses and limitations with LIAT - Antigua News Room\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1620\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/D931DE78-0672-400C-A913-9BB352601FF1-2041-0000020DB2508190.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-23T19:59:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-10-23T19:59:47+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1620\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/D931DE78-0672-400C-A913-9BB352601FF1-2041-0000020DB2508190.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1620\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/D931DE78-0672-400C-A913-9BB352601FF1-2041-0000020DB2508190.jpeg\",\"width\":\"1620\",\"height\":\"1080\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gonsalves says there are weaknesses and limitations with LIAT\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"name\":\"Antigua News Room\",\"description\":\"News As It Happens\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Antigua Newsroom\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"width\":1260,\"height\":1260,\"caption\":\"Antigua Newsroom\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gonsalves says there are weaknesses and limitations with LIAT - Antigua News Room","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gonsalves says there are weaknesses and limitations with LIAT","og_description":"Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says while the regional airline, LIAT, has made an invaluable contribution to Caribbean development, the Antigua-based airline has been challenged by some weaknesses and limitations. Gonsalves, who is chairman of the shareholder governments, told reporters that he feared that \u201cif we don\u2019t seek to enhance those strengths and possibilities and [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/","og_site_name":"Antigua News Room","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","article_published_time":"2018-10-23T19:59:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-10-23T19:59:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1620,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/D931DE78-0672-400C-A913-9BB352601FF1-2041-0000020DB2508190.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_site":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/"},"author":{"name":"Editor","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5"},"headline":"Gonsalves says there are weaknesses and limitations with LIAT","datePublished":"2018-10-23T19:59:44+00:00","dateModified":"2018-10-23T19:59:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/"},"wordCount":696,"commentCount":7,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1620\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/D931DE78-0672-400C-A913-9BB352601FF1-2041-0000020DB2508190.jpeg","articleSection":["News","Tourism"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/","name":"Gonsalves says there are weaknesses and limitations with LIAT - Antigua News Room","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1620\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/D931DE78-0672-400C-A913-9BB352601FF1-2041-0000020DB2508190.jpeg","datePublished":"2018-10-23T19:59:44+00:00","dateModified":"2018-10-23T19:59:47+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1620\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/D931DE78-0672-400C-A913-9BB352601FF1-2041-0000020DB2508190.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1620\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/D931DE78-0672-400C-A913-9BB352601FF1-2041-0000020DB2508190.jpeg","width":"1620","height":"1080"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/gonsalves-says-there-are-weaknesses-and-limitations-with-liat\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gonsalves says there are weaknesses and limitations with LIAT"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","name":"Antigua News Room","description":"News As It Happens","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization","name":"Antigua Newsroom","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","width":1260,"height":1260,"caption":"Antigua Newsroom"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5","name":"Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","caption":"Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/9129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}