Local airlines are still awaiting notification that they no longer need to collect the Antigua airport tax for travellers from Montserrat.
Hon. Premier Donaldson Romeo announced more than a week ago that he’d reached an agreement with Hon. Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda Gaston Browne to waive the airport tax of US$37.50 one way. However, the premier said on ZJB Radio on Monday, April 25, that official notification has not yet been received.
The premier said an error had been made in the initial correspondence approving the tax waiver and so it was recalled. Premier Romeo explained that what is now being offered is a EC$100,000 grant from the Antigua Treasury to cover the taxes that would have been collected. He said discontinuing the airport tax would take an act of parliament, which could be a month away.
Airlines collect the taxes which are paid to a private company, as the funds go towards repayment of the loan for the construction of the V.C. Bird International Airport.
Representatives at Fly Montserrat explained that until they received official notification from the Antigua & Barbuda Government that the tax should not be collected, they were obligated to do so.
Since 2012, Montserratians have been paying US$75.00 if they spend more than 24 hours on Antigua.
