Antigua Airways Controversy Influencing Government’s Approach to Air Peace Flights, PM Says

Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the government’s experience with the Antigua Airways migrant controversy is influencing its cautious approach to new Air Peace flights between Nigeria and the Caribbean amid heightened Ebola concerns in parts of Africa.

Speaking on Pointe FM on Saturday, Browne said Antigua and Barbuda is taking what he described as a “very conservative position” on the scheduled Air Peace service from Lagos because officials do not want to repeat problems encountered during the Antigua Airways operation in late 2022 and early 2023.

“We got burnt there, so we’ve been a little cautious,” Browne said.

The Prime Minister recalled that migrants from Cameroon traveled to Antigua via Nigeria on Antigua Airways flights at a time when authorities believed they were arriving as tourists.

“They ended up being conflict migrants who were trying to get into the United States,” Browne said.

He said the government eventually suspended the flights because it did not want Antigua and Barbuda to be perceived as facilitating human trafficking.

“We didn’t want anybody to think, even erroneously, that we were facilitating any form of trafficking of people,” Browne said.

Browne said the government also faced challenges after hundreds of migrants refused offers to return to Africa and instead attempted to leave Antigua illegally by boat.

“We had about 600 of them here,” Browne said. “They started to smuggle over to the country.”

The Prime Minister stressed that Antigua and Barbuda remains committed to strengthening air links between Africa and the Caribbean and noted that the country had played a leading role in developing those connections.

“We have been at the forefront of providing that air bridge between Africa and the Caribbean,” Browne said.

However, he said current Ebola concerns have forced the government to adopt additional precautions.

“In the circumstances of the heightened Ebola situation and so on, we have chosen to take a very conservative position,” Browne said.

Browne explained that Antigua may not receive the first scheduled Air Peace flight, which is instead expected to travel directly to Barbados before passengers destined for Antigua are transported onward by LIAT.

The Prime Minister said authorities are reinstating enhanced airport screening measures, including infrared thermal scanners and other international health protocols, while the Infectious Disease Centre has been reactivated as a precaution.

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