PG Residents Demand Answers as Tropic Air’s Last Flight Nears  

Punta Gorda residents gathered peacefully at the airstrip this morning, demanding answers. As we had reported, Tropic Air last flight to the town will be on October 31, less than two weeks away. Residents say that the government has yet to fully explained what air service will look like after that date. Residents say the concern goes beyond tourism. They say reliable flights are critical for medical emergencies, access to essential services and people across the Toledo District. We spoke to some of them.

 

Tourism Stakeholder #1, Punta Gorda

“Most of our guests get here by air. It’s not a place where they come and it’s a one-hour ride to PG. So Tropic Air, Maya, the way of getting people to PG by air is very important for the tourism sector. If you look at a lodge like Copal Tree, a more high-end lodge, they need to get their people here rather quickly. Same thing with Garbutt. These guests are flying from a major part of the US. They may get up at two o’clock in the morning or even earlier. So for them to be in a vehicle getting to PG, it’s a deterrent. As a tourism stakeholder, we need this airlift out of Punta Gorda to make those people continue to want to come to PG, and to make it easier.”

 

Tourism Stakeholder #2, Punta Gorda

“It’s an essential flight. We need to rally with Mr. Mejia so we can continue this traffic coming to PG.”

 

Tourism Stakeholder #3, Punta Gorda

“I think this falls at the feet of the government, and I believe we should pressure them to find a solution, because Tropic Air is a business. Based on their press release, they are stating they are losing money. So we are asking the government to take complete control to fix this problem immediately.”

 

Wil Maheia, Tourism Stakeholder

“It has been more than two weeks since we had a big meeting at the BTIA office. The area rep left that meeting to meet in San Pedro with Tropic or Maya. He said he would meet with the Tropic Air CEO and go to Cabinet. So far there has been no official response. Today is the 19th. It is less than two weeks, and there is absolutely no infrastructure here for Maya, who they claim would fly.”

 

Earlier this month, the Belize Airport Authority told us that discussions with Tropic Air are not over. It said it remains committed to working with the airline and other stakeholders to find a workable solution.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: