PM Browne reacts to continued action taken by LIAT pilots

Prime Minister Gaston Browne is joining residents and passengers in condemning the action taken by  LIAT pilots not to fly the ATR 72 series aircraft.
LIAT is hoping that an injunction, to be heard tomorrow (Saturday) in the Industrial Court, goes in the company’s favour.
Today marks the third day that the pilots have refused to fly the ATR 72 model and PM Browne has called this move “senseless”.
“I am hoping that common sense prevails, that they will end their senseless action and go back to work. They cannot be making any unilateral demands at LIAT. They must sit down with the management and come up with a mutually satisfactory time frame for their outstanding pay to be settled.”
“What they’re doing is totally destructive and does not empower LIAT to settle any outstanding pay. What it does is exacerbate the situation and it makes no sense. They are pursuing a lose-lose situation and it needs to discontinue. It’s utter nonsense,” Prime Minister Browne told OBSERVER media..
In Browne’s opinion, this is making the regional airline lose even more money and has further inflamed the situation between the airline and its customers who heavily rely on LIAT’s services.
“LIAT is literally on the verge of bankruptcy and for them to be demanding outstanding pay at this time, the timing is bad. They are failing the Caribbean people. They need to understand that they have a responsibility to the Caribbean people, not only to themselves and their pay,” he said.
The prime minister said as far as he is concerned, LIAT’s pilots owe a lot to the region. Antigua & Barbuda is one of the shareholder states and he sees no reason why they should not get back to work immediately.
“Their sense of consciousness should be enough to go back to work. As I said, they are failing the people. Caribbean people and governments have done a lot for LIAT and as far as I am concerned, they are taking it too far and if they continue, they will destroy LIAT and not only LIAT, they will destroy themselves because many of them are going to find themselves out of work.”
On Wednesday alone, it was estimated that over 1,000 passengers were affected with five flights affected. a further eight flights have since been disrupted.