Amidst All The Talk About Peter Turnquest, Randy Butler Fights For Sky
7 August 2019
It looks like the best efforts of the entrepreneur Randy Butler in saving the once proud Sky Bahamas have failed. The airline is still not in the air. It is grounded because of issues related to the regulator. It owes substantial sums to the Airport Authority and to NAD, the Airport Company. Mr. Butler was doing what he does best, that is, talking his ass off, to lobby to save the airline. No words from Peter Turnquest his sometime partner in the airline. Mr. Turnquest as Minister of Finance caused the duty on airline parts and then air craft themselves to be lowered. That did not help Sky Bahamas. Now rumors abound that the real reason the airline is grounded has to do with money scam allegation made in the US. It is said to have Peter Turnquest quite nervous. We don’t know. We just think it’s a pity. It’s clear that Mr. Butler no longer has friends at court. The Minister for Aviation who is usually quite a talkative fellow was having none of it. Here is what Dionisio D’Aguilar told The Tribune on 7th August 2019: “I believe, although I haven’t confirmed, that he had discussions with the regulator. I want to be very clear: No minister of aviation with any sense is going to intervene on a safety issue.
“If Sky Bahamas has a matter before the Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority, it’s up to him to figure out how to get the necessary approvals in order for him to obtain his air operating certificate (AOC).”
Mr D’Aguilar continued: “I don’t have the technical expertise to intervene on his behalf; this is something he has to work out with the regulator. The aviation sector is highly regulated with a lot of technical standards and technical rules, which the regulator knows and the operating airlines know.
“He needs to sit with the regulator and work out what difference he has in order to bring ease and calm to the matter, and put the regulator at bay to fulfill all of the requirements that he has.”
Memo to Randy Butler. No help is on the way.