Jamaica 'stunned' over news that T&T might reconsider airline deal

A report in the Jamaica Gleaner states that local officials "appeared stunned by news out of Port-of-Spain on Thursday that the new Trinidad government...could be having second thoughts about the takeover of Air Jamaica by the state-owned Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL)."

The paper said it was unable to get a comment from Finance Minister Audley Shaw but officials pointed reporters to Dennis Lalor, who led the Air Jamaica divestment committee and was the point man in the negotiations.

It said Lalor had not heard the news, which came on Thursday afternoon out of one of the first post-Cabinet media briefings hosted by the Kamla administration.

However, he said he would not expect any change in the position of the Trinidad government because its objectives have been largely met since CAL acquired Air Jamaica.

Under the agreement signed by the previous Manning government Trinidad and Tobago will contribute working capital to facilitate the merger while the Jamaican government assumed the debt and covered the multibillion-dollar winding-up costs.

But the Jamaican government received grants of US$820,000 (J$70 million) in 2008 to help with the early stages of the divestment and US$221,000 (J$19.12 million) Thursday from the United States Trade and Development Agency to assist with finalising the deal.