GOVERNMENT spends approximately $300 million annually to keep state-owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL) in the air.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert made this point during a meeting of the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on Friday.
This meeting was the start of the committee's deliberations on the 2023/2024 budget.
Responding to a question from Oropouche West MP Davendranath Tancoo about a sum of $133 million allocated to CAL, Imbert said the ministry pays for many things to keep the airline operational. He added these include loans taken by CAL for the use of ATR planes on the domestic airbridge.
"I'm just making a comment that maybe you (Tancoo) may know one or two (CAL) pilots). Maybe one of the ones who decided that they fell ill."
He was referring to two days in August when CAL pilots called in sick almost 100 times.
Tancoo replied that he had not asked about that.
Imbert said, 'I didn't interrupt you when you were talking. I think I have a lot of minutes left to talk."
He repeated his suggestion to Tancoo to show any CAL pilots he knew information in the budget "that we are going to be paying $133 million in debt-servicing for CAL in 2024."
Imbert said the loans the airline has taken out for different aspects of its operations are different.
"Some of them would be maturing. Some of them would require principal repayments in 2024. Some of them might only have interest payments. They might be bullet payments."
Pilots, said Imbert, "don't bear that cost. That is a cost that we bear, in the Ministry of Finance."
Referring to another document, Imbert said the ministry also pays $178 million to CAL.
"Add that to the $133 million, you get over $300 million that we pay to keep CAL in the air, per year.
CAL cancelled 60 international and domestic flights between August 19 and 20.
On August 21, the airline obtained an injunction from the Industrial Court against the TT Airline Pilots Association (TTALPA) which compelled pilots to return to work.
All the airline's operations have returned to normal.
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