LIAT and its pilots seal a deal, flights to resume

The management of regional carrier LIAT and representatives of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) just brokered a deal to bring to an immediate end a three-day impasse over a demand for increased pay by the pilots.
Captain Carl Burke, President of LIALPA, confirmed moments ago that a Consent Order was signed just before 6 pm today Friday between LIALPA and LIAT’s acting CEO Julie Reifer-Jones. The order outlines an agreement on the payment terms for extra money to fly the larger planes and retroactive pay.
According to Captain Burke, this means LIAPA’s membership will immediately resume flying the ATR 72s which LIALPA had instructed its pilots not to fly from June 7 up until today.
The Consent Order is to be confirmed at 10 am on Saturday in the Industrial Court.
Earlier today, LIAT’s management issued the following statement in response to Captain Burke’s claim that some pilots had been left stranded and therefore the others should not fly to any destination that would result in them having to remain away from home:
“The Management of LIAT continues to work towards resolving the current impasse with The Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA). LIAT denies reports that it has ‘abandoned’ its pilots and left them stranded throughout the network LIAT operates 10 ATR aircraft, the smaller ATR 42 which seats 48 passengers and the larger ATR 72 which seats 68 passengers.
By refusing to fly the ATR72 on the morning of June 7th, several aircraft and passengers were delayed at points of departure, including Trinidad, St Vincent, Tortola and Guyana. The company can confirm that some pilots found themselves away from base as a result of the current action by LIALPA.
The company was therefore forced to transfer other pilots to these locations to fly the aircraft to move passengers impacted by the delays and cancellations. In this situation, the company’s priority remains to transport our loyal and paying passengers. LIAT’s acting CEO Julie Reifer-Jones stated that “The company remains committed to meeting the needs of its pilots away from base while acting on the instructions of the company through its Operations Control Centre.” LIAT is calling on LIALPA to let common sense prevail and to return the operations of the company to normalcy so we can serve the region.”