While pilots of regional air carrier LIAT continue to battle pay woes, chairman of the Leeward Islands’ Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) Michael Blackburn is threatening legal action over a situation which he said could pose a threat to travel safety.
Blackburn told the DAILY NATION yesterday pilots had been advised by letter Tuesday that LIAT staff would not be paid for the month of June “in accordance with the company’s usual pay cycle”.
Though Blackburn considered this a nagging issue which LIAT has attributed to “severe cash flow problems”, he expressed greater concern about alleged pilot fatigue, which had serious implications for passenger safety.
“As a trade unionist, I have to be very careful that the rest periods are observed. Right now, the leading cause of accidents in commuter aircraft is pilot fatigue,” Blackburn stated, citing the example of a recent airline crash in the United States blamed on pilot error as a result of fatigue. (GC)
Full story in today’s DAILY NATION.
