Antigua government accepts blame for Antigua Airways migrant fiasco

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Antigua and Barbuda said it could locate the West Africans, who were recently brought to the twin islands from Nigeria via flights chartered by Antigua Airways.

Reports say some of the Africans are missing and may have sought to be transported off Antigua to neighboring countries and the United States.

Immigration officials had discussions with government officials yesterday and a note from the meeting said: Cabinet has been advised that visitors staying in Antigua can be accommodated in several small hotels and guesthouses across the island. An offer to send them back to their country must be made, although many are likely to choose to stay, it has been reported. Some arrangements could be made to ensure that their status is legal.

Information Minister Melford Nicholas told the media today that around 637 of the 911 Africans remain on the island.

Nicholas said the government was weighing its options to return Africans to their homeland or make them legal residents.

The question has been raised regarding the provision of protections to Africans who may seek asylum due to problems in their country of origin.

I don’t know if asylum is being considered at this stage. The question would be if people are having economic difficulty returning to their jurisdiction, then the options for the government would be to organize a plane to bring them back. Alternatively, if they have pleaded hardship and wish to remain in jurisdiction, that is a consideration we will look at in terms of what can be done to assimilate them into the population, he said.

Nicholas says the government bears some responsibility for the situation that has developed, but he argued that having flights between the Caribbean and Africa will have benefits.

The Minister noted that there was no harm in keeping some of the West Africans in Antigua as he said many might have skills and knowledge that the country could use.

Nicholas expressed his hope that Antigua Airways can resume operations between St Johns and Lagos, Nigeria, to connect the Caribbean to Africa.

The Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) halted charter operations for Antigua Airways last month because it failed to comply with regulatory requirements.

The beleaguered airline had operated a charter between Antigua and Nigeria on November 1, 2022.

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