(Trinidad Express) Transport Minister Devant Maharaj has said he will not meet with REDjet executives until the regional low-fares airline receives an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) from the Barbados government.
On Thursday, REDjet wrote to the director general of the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA), Ramesh Lutchmedial, indicating that “the airline’s shareholders were obliged to suspend operations as continued funding of the current business plan was contingent on the activation of an agreement that was concluded between the shareholders of REDjet and the Government of Barbados in January this year”.
REDjet then requested dialogue with the TTCAA in the interim.
However, Maharaj said in a statement yesterday that while the TTCAA acknowledged the airline’s commitment to restoring its AOC with the Barbados Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA), out of respect for its regional counterparts, he “will not engage in any premature discussions with REDjet” until the AOC has been reinstated by the BCAA and it reapplied for a Trinidad and Tobago licence to fly.
Last month, REDjet’s airline licence to fly was revoked by the TTCAA.
Earlier in the month, REDjet’s chief executive officer, Ian Burns, said the airline had no alternative but to suspend flights due to financial problems.
The TTCAA informed Burns the authority was left with no option but to revoke the licence, since the Barbados Civil Aviation Department (BCAD) by letter dated March 20, had advised REDjet that it was suspending the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) issued to REDjet Ltd.
