Chastanet wants probe into ECCAA

St Lucia's Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet has called for a probe into the conduct of the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA), which it alleges has shown bias in the handling of applications from CARICOM Airways for air passenger licence.

Chastanet has been in a battle with the aviation regulator over an air-operating certificate that would permit the carrier to fly to routes in the Eastern Caribbean.

"I am going to be requesting for an investigation to be carried out into the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority's handling of the CARICOM Airways matter, as I am convinced that every effort has been made to ensure that the carrier does not take to the skies in direct competition with other regional carriers," he said.

The new airline would pose competition for operations such as regionally-owned LIAT.

The issue sparked a row with Vincentian authorities and in December 2010, CARICOM Airways, whose operation is based in Castries, was grounded by ECCAA which claimed that it was operating illegally within the Caribbean.

The airline has an operating licence from Suriname where the business is registered.

Chastanet told the Caribbean Media Corporation that there is a misconception about the role of the ECCAA in the regional civil aviation sector.

"ECCAA is a functional corporation agency, meaning that the subregional governments share payment of the staff but individuals report to each country separately, so they are the civil aviation authority for St Lucia as well as the civil aviation authority for St Vincent, but they cannot speak as a regional body," the St Lucian tourism minister said.

"They are our civil-aviation authority and I have to tell you that I am extremely disappointed in the manner in which ECCAA has handled this situation, so we are going to be asking for an investigation in terms of how ECCAA has dealt with this matter. This has not been a way to do business."

Designated a flag carrier

Minister Chastanet said that CARICOM Airways has been designated a flag carrier for St Lucia under the Community of Interest Ruling and that ECCAA and other countries in the region have been notified of the airline's national status.

But the St Lucia government, he said, is still awaiting correspondence from the aviation regulator in acknowledgement.

"We are proceeding with efforts to get CARICOM Airways flying so I expect that they will be making an announcement shortly about commencing a service between St Lucia and Dominica and, given the new carrier's flag status, they may apply to several of the other destinations for permission to operate there," said Chastanet.

CARICOM Airways will begin with flights to Dominica, while applications are pending for travel to St Vincent, Grenada, and Martinique, he said.

"Islands that form part of an economic union are allowed to designate each other's carriers as their own national carrier - for instance, when BWIA flew from St Lucia to London, it flew as St Lucia's flag carrier, when Air Jamaica flew here from the USA it did so as St Lucia flag carrier, similarly in the case of Barbados," Chastanet said.

The St Lucian Government has announced plans to create a mini-hub in St Lucia, suggesting that such a move would increase the number of direct flights to other destinations and reduce the cost of air travel.

- CMC