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Precarious

Written by The Today Newspaper

Winair is the lifeline between Saba, Statia and St. Maarten. Without the airline, the two small islands would become dependent on sea transport.

The airline has been around for more than 45 years, serving ten destinations in the region. Currently Winair has six planes: three twin Otters with 19 seats each, and three Britten-Norman Islanders with nine seats each.

Though in the big scheme of all things aviation this truly is a Mickey Mouse operation, for the destinations Winair has been serving for all these years the flights are of the utmost importance.

The central government owns Winair, and the island government owns the land that Winair had in long lease for its operations. As long as the central government does not provide clarity about Winair’s future, the local government refuses to extend the long lease. Due to this deadlock, the company is not able to secure loans because it has no collateral.

Apparently, the central government has no taste for any kind of commitment to the airline. If it had, we would have seen some action by now. Until that action materializes, the island government is reluctant to commit itself as well.

Caught in the middle are the 39 pilots, the management, and the supporting staff at Winair. Media reports indicate that managing director Edwin Hodge has asked its managers to “tighten their belts” and staff has to put up with a situation wherein they get paid according to the cash that is available.

For the employees this experience must be like a bad dream. For the people who depend on Winair’s service, it is a disaster in the making.

It is incomprehensible that the central government displays such a lack of interest in a company that has been around longer than the politicians who control its fate.
To perplexed observers, the precarious situation Winair finds itself in is just another example of how politicians’ mastery of the art of doing nothing threatens to destroy a service that is essential to thousands of travelers.

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