LIAT (Antigua and Barbuda) (Antigua) CEO Julie Reifer-Jones has called for the abolishment of transit taxes imposed by the airports in the Caribbean as she sees them as hindering the growth of air traffic in the region, the Antigua Observer has reported.
"[The transit taxes] would be more important to LIAT because so many of our passengers fly more than one sector, and basically a lot of the routing through, be it Bridgetown, Barbados, St. Vincent Argyle International or Antigua, is that we are trying to connect the region and not just that the passenger wants to go there," Reifer-Jones has said.
She has also said that while she understands the need to generate revenue for the local authorities through airport taxes, their proportion in the overall cost structure is currently too high. As a result, airlines are discouraged from adding more services and passenger demand is stifled, which, in fact, jeopardises the revenue generated through the taxes.
According to Reifer-Jones, some of the Caribbean governments have expressed a general willingness to scrap the transit taxes.
"This is not an easy issue for the governments, but I would say that there is more acknowledgement that there is an issue to be addressed and it is a more robust discussion than it has ever been and it is including a wider range of territories," LIAT CEO has said.
According to the ch-aviation capacity module, LIAT currently operates a total of 499 weekly flights between 15 Caribbean destinations. The airline operates five each of ATR - Avions de Transport Régional 42-600s and 72-600s.
