B'dos, T&T squabble over REDjet

Barbados says it will not be a mortician and fight over "a corpse called regional integration" as the war of words continue over the licensing requirement for the region's first ever low-budget airline, REDjet.

Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart told reporters that his administration wanted to know how the game is being played with regards to Caribbean countries providing licences to airlines to operate within the region.

"I do not intend that Barbados should be in the position of any mortician fighting a corpse called regional integration movement. I know what happened with the West Indian Federation," said Stuart at the conclusion of the 32nd summit of Caricom heads in Basseterre.

"We in Barbados certified REDjet in Barbados as safe. We are being second-guessed on that. Other people certify their aircraft and we don't second-guess them."

Stuart, who was visibly upset, said he raised the issue at the meeting with his colleagues.

"I only want to know the rules. I just want to know how people are playing the game; I can play the game as well as they can play it," he said.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told reporters later that her country has raised safety concerns about the airline.

"We are of the view that the safety of our nationals is paramount and, therefore, given the flags that we raised, complications of the aircraft, we are of the view that those should first be dealt with before we can go forward with the matter," she said.

A suggestion was made for the civil aviation authorities from Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago to look into her government's safety concerns, said Persad-Bissessar.

Stuart accused Port of Spain of conducting a smear campaign against REDjet, noting that at a meeting held in Trinidad last month with the relevant ministers of civil aviation, Barbados Minister of International Transport George Hutson was shown apparently questionable photographs about the airline.

No response

Stuart said the Trinidad government has up to now not responded to a request for certification of the said photographs.

"He (Hutson) was told that they had to do with REDjet. He asked to have them certified, but they refused according to what he told me. And the next thing we knew that they (photographs) were on the Internet and the smear campaign against REDjet continued," Stuart said.

REDjet is awaiting licences to operate between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. The airline already operates scheduled flights to Guyana.

St Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas, the current CARICOM chairman, has said that his country is considering an application from REDjet to begin operating flights into the country.

- CMC