(Trinidad Guardian) Newly sworn-in Prime Minister of Grenada Dr Keith Mitchell has hinted Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) may be granted flag carrier status by his government soon. The issue came up Sunday night at Piarco International Airport during informal talks with Rabindra Moonan, chairman of Caribbean Airlines, as both men discussed the role the airline could play in deepening relations between Grenada and T&T, moreso as it related to increasing airlift into Trinidad’s neighbour to the north.
Also at the meeting, the Prime Minister’s first since his swearing-in, was Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran. Mitchell had a layover at Piarco on his way to New York on a Caribbean Airlines flight. Mitchell pledged his government’s support to CAL and hoped CAL would be able to increase the current level of services it operated into and out of Grenada.
He said the issue of granting flag carrier status to Caribbean Airlines would be referred to the Grenada Airlift Committee, with which CAL has already successfully worked. At present CAL operates several international flights to Grenada from destination in North America. There are two weekly services to New York out of Grenada (Wednesday and Saturday) and this is increased according to demand during the peak seasons of summer and Christmas.
There is also a CAL flight to Toronto out of Grenada. Additionally there are six turbo prop services between Grenada and Trinidad weekly, with several connecting to CAL’s New York and Toronto services. Moonan said he was delighted to have had the opportunity to speak to Mitchell and held high expectations for the future of the airline’s relationship with the Government and people of Grenada.
