Above: a LIAT plane

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Caribbean air carrier LIAT is suspending its service to Nevis for the winter season, according to the Nevis Island Administration.

The affected service is the Antigua-Nevis route.

The NIA said it had received a letter from LIAT at the beginning of the month indicating that it would be suspending its service to the island from Dec. 3 to Jan. 14, 2014.

“The reasons they have given and I quote ‘as a result of the fleet transition is currently underway and limited resources they are unable to provide a service into Nevis for the period of winter, 2013, which will commence on the December 3rd 2013 and will continue on to January 14th 2014,” said Deputy Premier and Tourism Minister Mark Brantley.

The Minister said LIAT’s management had assured the NIA that they would “seek to resume the services on Jan. 15,” with an update to come in December.

LIAT has been in a period of turmoil in recent months, with continued service issues, delays and, most recently, a pilots’ strike. It is currently undergoing a large-scale refleeting exercise.

LIAT flights to St Kitts have not been disrupted.

“Now this is not good news for us and we as an administration are convinced, that airlift into the Vance Amory International Airport is absolutely critical for the growth and development of Nevis, especially for the growth and development of our tourist industry and so this announcement by LIAT, comes at the worst possible time for us,” Brantley said.

Nevis’ Vance Amory International Airport has seen a boost of late, however, with new flights from carriers including Cape Air, Tradewind Aviation and, most recently, Seaborne, which will launch flights to the island early next year.

Brantley said the administration had already engaged in talks with other carriers, including SVG Air, Fly Montserrat, BVI Air and Tradewind.

“We’re talking to all of them with a view to see how best we can accommodate the traffic from Antigua and to Antigua, so that our people can connect out of Antigua for onward journey’s especially intra-regional travel,” Brantley said.