Government reverses position on airline routes

After almost two years of lobbying, local airline interests have finally convinced the Belize Government not to grant so called “fifth freedom” rights to Mexican carriers. The announcement, in the form of a B.I.S. press release, reversed a decision made earlier which would have allowed Mexican airlines to carry passengers from Mexico into Belize and also operate from Belize into Flores, Guatemala. According to Pablo Espat, Manager of Maya/Island Air, the granting of such rights would have unfairly deprived local carriers of potentially lucrative business.

Pablo Espat, General Manager, Maya/Island Air

“The biggest concern we have about issuing the Fifty Freedom rights is that the local industry is concerned that there is stagnation in the local market and that the only potential for the industry to grow is that for us to offer services into neighboring countries, one of which is Guatemala. We feel that the industry has made serious effort over the last five or ten years to the point where the route into Guatemala, into Flores, Guatemala is beginning to look promising. And we feel that we need to have more of these types of services into neighboring countries for the industry to have any hope of surviving for the next five or ten years.”

Q: “Initially in several memoranda of understand that Government had signed with the government of Mexico, they had indicated that they would be granting Mexican airlines fifth freedom rights. Now they are saying something else. Why do you think they are changing their minds?”

Pablo Espat

“Since Government signed the first memorandum of understanding in November of 1996 and then the second one in November of 1997 the local association has been lobbying Government very strongly suggesting that they reconsider offering Freedom Rights to the Mexican airlines. We’ve recently had a consultant come in and the consultant did a detail report for us which was submitted to the Government and it seems as though Government now understands what the concerns are and they have decided to remove the fifth freedom rights from the agreement which we’re very pleased about.”

In making their arguments the local airlines explained that Mexican carriers are so heavily subsidized in the form of cheap fuel and lower operating costs that their Belizean counterparts could not realistically compete on the Mexico-Belize-Guatemala route.