Government clears BWIA debt BY JUHEL BROWNE Trinidad Guardian 05.22.03 Government=92s last-minute $31.25 million (US$5 million) letter of comfort= =20 will clear BWIA=92s debt to International Leasing Finance Corporation, the= =20 company it is leasing most of its aircraft from, Trade and Industry=20 Minister Kenneth Valley said yesterday. ILFC seized a BWIA Boeing 737-800=20 aircraft as it prepared to leave Miami International Airport on Tuesday=20 because of the debt owed by BWIA. =93The US$5 million is to pay off ILFC and= =20 that=92s it. As I understand it, we are now current with them,=94 said= Valley,=20 during the tea break at yesterday=92s session of Parliament. Valley also=20 expects the seized aircraft to be back in service today. Some 103=20 passengers were left stranded in Miami when the aircraft was seized. BWIA=20 spokesman Clint Williams refused to comment on the status of the aircraft=20 yesterday evening though, adding the negotiations for its release were=20 ongoing. On Tuesday, Williams said BWIA expected the aircraft to back in=20 service before the end of the week, as Government, the airline and ILFC=20 were working out its release. As of last night, the aircraft remained in= Miami. Government granted the $31.25 million to BWIA out of a proposed $116.8=20 million State loan for the airline. Government and BWIA have been=20 negotiating the pre-conditions for the loan, which include a review and=20 revision of the airline=92s management and compensation packages for all=20 employees. =93Although they have not completed all their conditions=85I= mean,=20 this was an emergency and we had to release the funds for them,=94 Valley=20 said. A member of Cabinet=92s Inter-Ministerial Committee appointed by Prime= =20 Minister Patrick Manning to conduct a review of BWIA=92s operations, Valley= =20 said he would be meeting with the airline=92s executive on Monday. Williams= =20 did confirm all the affected passengers were scheduled to arrive in=20 Trinidad last night. He said the passengers were put on two separate=20 flights: BW 431, which was a direct flight from Miami; and BW 483, which=20 had a stop over in Barbados. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.caribbeanfloral.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************