Dioniso D’Aguilar, Minister of Tourism and Aviation, told Eyewitness News Friday he is no position to speak to any layoffs at the National flag carrier.
The announcement comes after Bahamasair announced the closure of its reservations department, a few months ago, as it was opting to switch to an online platform and call center.
“The government hasn’t made any decisions. There is nothing the board has brought to my attention on any potential layoffs at Bahamasair,” D’Aguilar said.
“So, I don’t know what their planning. Obviously we’ll look at what the board recommends but, at this time, no recommendations have come forth to me so I’m not in a position to say it’s even being considered …”
D’Aguilar said, in the meantime, the government is trying to find more ways to make the national flag carrier more profitable.
“I know they are looking at rationalizing Bahamasair to make it more profitable or losing less money. May I remind you that the taxpayer each and every year pumps $14 million into Bahamasair, and that is before we begin the repayment of the 120 million dollars of debt that Bahamasair has,” the minister said.
“We are just paying the interest. So when we start to pay the principle, that will amount to 25 million additional dollars a year. So now the taxpayer will be on the hook for 40 million dollars a year.”
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This article was written by RIEL MAJOR, Eyewitness News intern.
