BWIA plan goes to Cabinet

TRADE and Industry Minister Ken Valley was optimistic yesterday  that the final plan outlining long-term strategies for national airline BWIA’s viability would be discussed during Thurs-day’s weekly Cabinet meeting at Whitehall, and a decision taken on it. The plan was formulated following a January 28 meeting of BWIA’s board of directors. Valley received the plan just before Carnival. During last month’s visit to Trinidad and Tobago by Chinese Vice-Presi-dent Zheng Quinghong, the minister declined to say if the airline’s closure was part of the final plan, but Valley indicated that all options were being considered.

BWIA communications manager Dionne Ligoure said a lot of work went into creating the plan and an official at the airline has described the plan as a sound one. In December, Prime Minister Patrick Man-ning had warned BWIA’s directors that they would be replaced if they could not come up with a plan for the airline’s long-term viability within one month’s time.