Union boss Dennis Clarke has blasted regional airline LIAT amid reports of a pending closure of two departments here.
The General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), while calling on regional governments to urgently look again at the management and operations of LIAT, said travelling with the airline was a “horror story”.
His comments were contained in a statement issued by the NUPW on Monday in which he said LIAT’s service “is the worse one can find in any part of the world”.
“The . . . delays and cancellation of flights have become the norm,” the statement said.
There are unconfirmed reports that LIAT is to shut down its revenue management and scheduling departments and move them to Antigua where its headquarters are located.
Clarke was of the view that there was no proper planning and scheduling of flights and LIAT’s operations were a “free for all” without any care for passengers’ concerns.
“The general secretary has argued that the only service coming from LIAT that is worthy of one, is its repeated apologies for being late, delays and cancellations. He has called for an overhaul of its management and operations. LIAT is a blight on travel within the region and as it stands will continue to be an economic failure. He likened LIAT to a dead man getting to his funeral late,” the statement read.
But the airline said that its punctuality has been at 67 per cent over the last six years in an industry that has an overall on time average of 75 per cent.
“We would like to let Mr Clarke and all our customers know that our operational performance is of the highest priority for all of us in LIAT and we will continue to strive to produce real improvements,” a statement from the airline read.
LIAT also conceded that its operational performance was not where it should be and customers deserved real improvements.
(AC/PR)
