Browne renews call for OECS-owned airline as Caricom agrees regional ferry plan
Leaders meeting in Saint Lucia set a September 2026 deadline for a ferry service regulatory framework and discussed ways to cut the cost of living.
CASTRIES, Saint Lucia. Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has renewed his call for an airline owned by the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), saying frequent delays and cancellations by existing carriers are disrupting travel across the Eastern Caribbean.
The OECS includes Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.
Browne cited his own six-hour delay travelling to the recent Caricom summit in Saint Lucia, and warned that reduced international services, including by British Airways, made a regional airline increasingly necessary.
He proposed that the airline be jointly owned by OECS governments but privately managed on commercial principles to ensure profitability and sustainability.
ECCB profit
Browne said the ECCB Monetary Council had approved using funds from dormant bank accounts for regional development projects, while preserving depositors' right to reclaim their money at any time.
The outgoing Monetary Council chairman praised ECCB Governor Timothy Antoine for a EC$121.6 million profit in the 2025 to 2026 financial year, and said the OECS must turn its resilience into greater prosperity.
Caricom ferry pilot
At a high-level dialogue in Saint Lucia, Caricom leaders and private sector representatives agreed the region must move beyond discussion to coordinated action with clear goals, timelines and accountability.
The meeting brought together heads of government from 13 Caricom countries, more than 120 private sector leaders, labour representatives and partners including the IDB, CDB and CDF.
Improving air and sea transport was identified as a major priority. Leaders agreed to advance a pilot ferry service using a vessel offered by the Trinidad and Tobago government, and to establish the regulatory framework for a regional ferry service by September 2026.
Cost of living
Participants examined ways to improve affordability by removing barriers to intra-regional trade, cutting transport costs, diversifying imports and mobilising regional investment. They also discussed the impact of the International Maritime Organization's Net-Zero Framework on Caricom small island states.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley proposed a formal agreement among governments, businesses and labour, including lower profit margins on essential goods.
Leaders also agreed to create working groups with clear deadlines and measurable goals.
