By Vernon Khelawan Friday, February 11 2011

Caribbean Airlines Limited has been denied the right to fly between Barbados and Fort Lauderdale in Florida and between St Lucia and New York by the United States’ Department of Transportation.

A decision, handed down in Washington DC yesterday, stated the department could not “make the public interest findings necessary to grant the extra-bilateral.”

“Air Jamaica is not currently serving either point and CAL has not demonstrated that there is an immediate public need for these services in the circumstances presented. We will thus dismiss its request to serve these points from the United States,” it added.

CAL’s application for permission to operate the flight was filed with DOT on September 14 last year and amended on September 22.

However CAL was granted permission for one year (February 10, 2011-February 10, 2012):

For scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail from points behind Jamaica, via Jamaica and immediate points to a point or point in the United States;

Charter foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between any point or points in the United States and any foreign point or points, provided that, except with respect to cargo charters, such service constitutes part of a continuous operation with or without a change of aircraft that includes service to Jamaica for the purpose of carrying local traffic between Jamaica and the United States; and scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between Grenada and New York.

The DOT statement also stated: “While we note that the seventh freedom authority we are granting here is extra-bilateral for a foreign air carrier of Trinidad and Tobago, we have determined that approval of this authority is consistent with the public interest in the circumstances presented and on the specific record of this case.”

The statement was signed by Paul Gretch, director, Office of International Aviation, Department of Transportation while DC attorney John R Mietus Jnr, filed CAL’s application.

Contacted yesterday, CAL, through its head of corporate communications Laura Asbjorsen said the airline was not prepared to comment on a document it had not yet seen.