PM welcomes return of American Airlines

Prime Minister Gaston Browne Thursday night welcomed the return of international flights into Antigua and Barbuda, saying citizens cannot live their lives hiding from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and insisting that failure to re-open the borders could result in economic collapse, high unemployment and overwhelming poverty.

In a radio and television broadcast, Browne said that the re-opening of the airport on Monday to regional and international air traffic was done amid every precaution being taken “to control the transmission of COVID-19 to the domestic population”.

An American Airline flight arrived here late on Thursday night and Browne said it brought both nationals and visitors and was piloted by a national of Antigua and Barbuda.

“We will not deny our own nationals, who are abroad, the solace in returning to the common home we share,” he said, adding that the foreigners “will be among the first tourists to our country, since COVID-19 caused the necessary closure of our airport and seaport to human traffic, triggered the shuttering of our hotels, and instigated the worst damage to our economy in many decades”.

Browne said no one here had “escaped the ravages that COVID-19 has visited upon our economy,” adding that “in one way or the other, it has touched us all”.

“Some have felt that unwelcome touch more than others. In their cases, they have not only experienced job losses, they have also suffered the misery of losing a loved one prematurely. As a nation, our heartfelt sympathy pours out to those families, even as we thank God Almighty for guiding and protecting us, in ways that controlled the disease and curtailed its awful and fatal reach.”

Browne said that it was not easy to do battle with that enemy.

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