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Sale of Air Jamaica’s Heathrow Slots to Virgin Atlantic investigated

KINGSTON, Jamaica – (JIS) The Government has asked the Contractor General to investigate the sale of seven Air Jamaica Heathrow slots to Virgin Atlantic on March 10. The slots were sold for US$10 million.

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, who made the announcement as he closed the 2008/09 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives yesterday (April 23), said that, “the sale revenue given up is too large, potentially US$364 million, for us to not fully investigate this matter.”

He pointed out that “US$364 million or J$26 billion could have paid off 75 per cent of the US$473 million liabilities of Air Jamaica, including the US$325 million bond for which this Budget has to find $3.7 billion this year alone to service this debt.”

According to Minister Shaw, the sale of the Heathrow slots is of “great concern to the Government for several reasons.”

“Parliament’s consent on a fundamental issue as this was never sought. Parliament was only advised when the sale was signed, sealed and delivered. This is a significant asset of the people of Jamaica,” Mr. Shaw said.

He noted further that “it appears that legal officers of Air Jamaica and other senior Government technocrats had no input in the negotiations and the drafting of the sale agreement.”

Mr. Shaw also noted that “the process was not subject to public tender. It appears that only two companies had been courted, British Airways and Virgin.”

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