ROSEAU, Dominica, Nov. 09, 2014, CNS – The Dominica Hotel and Tourism Association (DHTA) has called on the government to consider the establishment of a national airline.
DHTA president Gregor Nassief said while he had resisted exploring the idea “for a long time” he is of the opinion that the island should at least evaluate the possibility of establishing a national airline for Dominica.
“It could simply be a few small aircraft servicing the hubs that we choose at the times that we choose in the interest of us,” he told the DHTA’s fourth annual general meeting on Thursday night.
Nassief said that while the stakeholders within the tourism sector had made “great strides in terms of the hubs and in terms of new services, we are always at the risk of an airline stopping their service or changing their schedule…and it has a very negative impact.
“If we had an airline, I emphasise small, servicing a couple of the key hubs we could at least have control over our airlift security to some extent and again, based on the dependency we have on secure air access, I think it is something we should certainly evaluate,” Nassief said.
Dominica is among the four shareholders in the Antigua-based regional airline, LIAT.
CNS/db/2014
