Former employees of LIAT 1974 Ltd. based in Antigua and Barbuda will receive a second compassionate payment from the government, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Gaston Browne has announced.
Browne said the government will make an additional EC$2 million payment to affected former workers, following an earlier disbursement. The funds will be provided through the government’s bond issue.
The prime minister stressed that the payment is not a legal obligation but a compassionate measure aimed at easing the hardship faced by employees displaced by the airline’s collapse.
“This is a gratuitous payment. There is no legal basis to do so,” Browne said, noting that the decision reflects the administration’s pro-labour philosophy and its desire to respond equitably to workers affected by the failure of LIAT 1974 Ltd.
Browne acknowledged that some former workers and trade unions remain dissatisfied, particularly due to the absence of full severance payments after the airline ceased operations. However, he said the government remains committed to continued engagement and dialogue and to taking reasonable steps to alleviate the circumstances of Antiguans and Barbudans left without severance, within the limits of public finances.
Former LIAT 1974 employees will be required to confirm their details with the appointed administrator of the now-defunct carrier in order to receive the payment.
LIAT 1974 ceased operations in 2020 and was formally liquidated in 2024, leaving hundreds of employees across the region without severance. While the government of Antigua and Barbuda has maintained that it was not legally responsible for severance obligations, it has sought to provide limited financial relief on compassionate grounds and has kept channels of communication open with affected workers.
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