Maya Air Takes Over Punta Gorda Flights

Toledo was about to lose its only scheduled air link. Last month, Tropic Air announced it would end scheduled flights to Punta Gorda on November 1. The announcement came after more than two decades of service. Tropic Air explained that the route was losing money. Prime Minister John Briceño says Tropic Air’s decision came without prior notice to the government, but confirmed that Maya Island Air has now stepped in to maintain the vital connection. He also revealed that the government has agreed to provide duty-free diesel as part of the arrangement.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“It came about because Tropic Air, without any notice, put an announcement that they are going to stop the flights to Punta Gorda. Now, on the surface of it, you can’t really be upset with the management of Tropic Air. They’ve been losing money. But the disappointment is that the management of Tropic Air never sat down with us to say, “Hey, I’m having these problems, and if we can’t find a way how we could address it, we will have to stop flights.” So it was sudden. We’re happy to announce that Maya Island Air has agreed to take on that route. So you can go online and start to buy tickets. The tourists that are visiting, they don’t have to worry. There’s going to be a flight going down south.”

 

Reporter

“What do you know about the nature of the agreement that was made with Maya Island Air, and will they be paid a subsidy to fly to Punta Gorda?”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“It’s not a matter that we’re going to pay a subsidy, but what we’ve agreed that we’re going to be able to provide some duty-free diesel.”

 

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: