LIAT (1974)

LIAT
IATA ICAO Call sign
LI LIA LIAT
Founded20 October 1956 (as Leeward Islands Air Transport Services)[1]
Commenced operations20 October 1974
Ceased operations24 January 2024
Operating bases
AllianceCaribsky[2]
Fleet size1
Destinations8
HeadquartersSaint George Parish, Antigua
Key peopleCleveland Seaforth (Administrator)
Websitewww.liat.com

LIAT (1974) Ltd, also known as Leeward Islands Air Transport Services and operating as LIAT, was a regional airline headquartered in Antigua and Barbuda that operated high-frequency inter-island scheduled services to 15[3] destinations in the Caribbean. The airline's main base was V.C. Bird International Airport, Antigua and Barbuda, with a secondary base at Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados.[4]

On 27 June 2020, the Antiguan prime minister Gaston Browne announced that LIAT would be liquidated following increased debt and the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline will be reformed into a new entity Liat (2020) which will continue to provide connections between the Caribbean islands. Liat (2020) commenced limited service in August 2024.[5]

On 24 July 2020, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda secured an order for administration for LIAT and named Cleveland Seaforth of BDO as administrator of the company. Seaforth was given a 120-day deadline to devise a restructuring plan and present it to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.[6]

LIAT ceased operations on 24 January 2024.[7]

  1. ^ Norwood, Tom; Wegg, John (2002). North American Airlines Handbook (3rd ed.). Sandpoint, ID: Airways International. ISBN 0-9653993-8-9. Archived from the original on 2016-11-28.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference alliance was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ http://www.liat.com/destination [dead link]
  4. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 105.
  5. ^ "LIAT 2020 launches operations with inaugural flight today". Loop News. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Court appoints Administrator to take control of LIAT". Antigua Observer Newspaper. 2020-07-25. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  7. ^ "End of an Era: LIAT 1974 makes final flights across Eastern Caribbean | Loop Caribbean News". Loop News. Retrieved 2024-01-25.