Today’s LIAT flight is entirely ceremonial

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LIAT will return to Caribbean skies today following a seven-month absence.

The airline will operate its first flight today from the V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua to Dominica.

LIAT 401 will depart Antigua at 4 p.m. and arrive at Douglas Charles Airport at 4:45 p.m. The return flight, LIAT 402 will depart from Dominica at 5 p.m. and arrive at V. C. Bird International Airport at 5:45 p.m.

LIAT will operate a limited schedule of flights when it launches its commercial schedule later in November which will return connectivity to its network which was impacted by the shutdown.

The airline is currently completing all the training and regulatory requirements for the territories it will be flying to.

It is expected to announce later this week its limited schedule as well as the destinations it will be flying to.

Also, several new procedures will be implemented to ensure the safety of passengers as well as reduce the risk of transmission of COVID. These include the mandatory wearing of masks at check-in and onboard, enhancement in its cleaning and sanitization protocols and new boarding procedures.

The airline was forced to suspend services in April 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which led to several destinations imposing travel bans and closing their borders.

The airline, which is currently under administration, is being restructured to improve its viability and the sustainability following a decision by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to reorganize the airline.

Passengers will be able to book flights via the new booking engine on its website, which will be launched shortly.

The airline will also be announcing its policy for persons who will want to utilize their credits to book flights during the new limited schedule. However, passengers seeking refunds will have to await the completion of the review by the Administrator.

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19 COMMENTS

  1. My friend BEEF why didn’t you tell me that the LIAT flight today from Sir VC Bird to Melville Hall is entirely ceremonial. You gave me the impression that it was the start of commercial operations for LIAT. With all the debt that LIAT currently faces don’t you think that that ceremonial flight is a waste of jet fuel? Anyway, I await LIAT commercial flights and my first stop will be Dominica since I lived there for 14 years and want to visit to see the developments since I left.

    • Tabor Tabor, I hope you listened to Mr. Seaforth on Darren Ward show asking him the very same question. It was a last minute decision when Dominica decided to change its entry requirements requesting passengers to have a PCR test and quarantine for 14 days. And as CLeaveland explained they have to take the planes up in the air anyway from time to time. The Pilots need to stay trained. The engines needs to be running. It’s not like a care that you can park up in your garage for months and then one day you just come and start it and ready to go. You guys are just not ready for opposition. You jump at each and every straw. And by the way even car should never be left too long without driving it. Certain part may cease. So whether you want to consider the flight ceremonial it had to be done anyway for the good of the airplane. I hope you understood that much

    • Just another political stunt more to come it’s not Browne or the administrator money that was used to buy the fuel today and who was the pilots that flew the plane and the crew stay tuned for more stunts.

  5. Zackie & Tabor, what the writer forgot to say is that persons would have booked the flight, with the intention of going to DM, but the covid protocols there have now changed. When most booked there was no need for a covid test (travel bubble). Well our regional partners have decided to to walk away from the said bubble idea. Dominica now requires a Covid negative test for persons arriving (see their Oct 27 revision which makes clear it has to be no more than 3 days old). The before said information was stated by the PM during his show on PointFM FM yesterday. Their list now only has Barbados as listed in said travel bubble. Must state something seems wrong with their criteria for including BDS yet not some of the other islands eg Anguilla. Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and Grenadines, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, The Cayman Islands, Norway, Iceland, New Zealand, Bermuda, BVI, Greenland, Singapore, Turks & Caicos Islands see https://discoverdominica.com/en/travel-advisory-for-dominica

      • So TENMAN the Prime Minister himself said that the passengers on the inaugural flight of LIAT to Dominica would not be able to deplane because of the requirement for a negative covid test, in those circumstances can you please tell me what was the necessity for the flight then? Good and serious management and governance is not about optics and PR gimmicks. Even the fuel used was a loss to LIAT.

        • Boss others who understand the biz, know the value https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHW_T_QyyB4 If no value in such why do we bother with ribbon cutting or opening ceremonies? PR/marketing is valuable hence has a cost (LIAT is back). Note this is not like the car park which had a soft opening in 2008 (this is an actual opening)

          • Boss TENMAN not versed in marketing and PR I am still waiting for a sensible and compelling reason from of the necessity for the ceremonial LIAT flight. I say it was a waste of jet fuel that LIAT can afford. The same PR advantage could have been achieved on the first flight when LIAT starts commercial operations and the jet fuel used for the ceremonial flight would have been used then. It is simple Aristotelian logic my dear TENNAN. Your spinning cannot change the fact that it was a waste of time and a pure PR stunt because the Prime Minister said that LIAT would be back in the air in 90 days. 1st November, 2020 was the 90 days. For your contemplation, LIAT is not back in the air as yet, it will be only back in the air with the start of commercial operations. Anyway, I must commend you you spin very well, but your newspaper excerpts and Youtude videos do not change the stark reality.

        • Hope you read my comment above in respond to you. The manager and the management that is still there called the shot. Not the PM. And they know why they did it. And he explained that a plane need to be flown regularly in order to keep it in good condition. And the pilots also need to fly a certain amount of hours in order to stay fit. When you have a DL you can stop driving a car for years renew your license every time and when you feel like jump behind the steering wheel again. Not so with plane. A pilot has to make his hours. Just like you would not want a surgeon operating on you that has not done operations in years. They should have something like that for you lawyers.

  7. Did the administrator administrate over this waste of scarce resources?

    The administrator has displayed poor judgement for allowing this flight to take off.

    The former workers should petition the court to have the administrator removed immediately.

    Gross negligence in the face of former workers who are owed severance.

    This waste of money by LIAT must stop.

  9. I don’t understand why so many people are upset that Liat is trying to start up the company again.You can’t make an omelette without cracking an egg .We have to start some where .Think of all the people who cannot get around the Caribbean who have not seen their family.
    I know pilots and worker for the airline need to get pay.Again this is a problem, where does the money go first.Compromise …The management at the top have to realize that everyone have bills to pay,they need to pay for food ,rent, mortgage ,medicine etc.Give the people some hope ,not just empty words but action,

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