BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN response to the unprecedented slowdown in passenger volume from St. Kitts, Winair has announced its intention to discontinue its services to and from the island as of Sunday, March 29, 2009.
According to a March 6 post-Cabinet briefing, the Government was officially informed by letter that due to increased competition, fluctuating fuel prices, and the increase in other operational costs, the airline would be unable to continue business as usual.
In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes, Minister of State with responsibility for Information, Hon. Nigel Carty informed that the airline alluded to a decreasing trend in passenger volume from St. Kitts, and has deemed the recent losses “unsustainable”.
“The Government did request a full analysis from Winair with a view to exploring how it could assist in keeping the services of the airline in St. Kitts. And, after dialoguing with the necessary stakeholders including the Minister of State with responsibility for Tourism, we were asked to offer recommendations as to how the services can be maintained.
“However, we didn’t see any clear case to stop Winair from pulling its operation from the island. There was no scenario presented by Winair that made an economically-acceptable case for the government to pursue,” said Carty.
When asked about the possible impacts the decision would have on the island’s tourism industry,
Senator Carty stressed that impact would not be great as “Winair contributed very little to the overall tourism development as they are a very small airline operator; plus their volume of passengers was steadily decreasing”.
Carty said the Government wishes Winair well in its endeavours as it services other parts of the region noting that official contact with LIAT has been made to ensure that any slack created by the discontinuation of Winair’s services can be redressed by that airline.
In early September 2008, Winair’s Management assured its customers that “all attempts are being explored in an effort to maintain the St. Kitts and Nevis routes” especially following the demise of Carib Aviation. Efforts were also made to expand the Nevis and St. Kitts route by introducing daily service to and from the islands to Antigua.
However, with growing operational, fuel and other related costs, the airline was unable to meet such commitments and was forced to make the decision to cut its service to the island.
