Cayman Airways To Start Operations Soon

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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.

See the article in its original context from July 1968.

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The government and people of the Cayman Islands will soon own controlling interests in an airline, Cayman Airways Ltd., to start operations shortly. This matter was discussed fully in the Legislative Assembly, when it met July 16 in George Town. Present and participating in the meeting which went into Committee to air the matter were Mr. Robert Morales, an official of LACSA, Mr. Norman Bodden, Manager of Cayman Brac Airways and Mr. F.L. Chadwick, Director of Civil Aviation. Cayman Airways Ltd. will be the same Cayman Brac Airways reformed "as a Commonwealth Carrier". Explaining the reasons for the change, the Administrator, His Honour Mr. J.A. Cumber told the Assembly C.B.A. as a whollyowned subsidiary of the Costa Rican Airline, LACSA, had to obtain an annual permit to operate in the three Cayman Islands. He said that the principal reason for such a situation was that the airline was not a Commonwealth Carrier.

By Commonwealth Carrier, Mr. Cumber meant any airline that is owned either in the West Indies or anywhere else in the CommonConta. on P. 3. Col 1 C.A.L. Contd. from P. 1. wealth. The Administrator said that 11 years ago when approached, none of the major air services, neither B.W.I.A. or LACSA were prepared to undertake the inter-island air service. He praised CBA for its bold venture and said that last year it was proposed that CBA should be reformed as a Commonwealth Carrier and given a new name. Various names were suggested and the most obvious one Caymon Islands Airways was rejected because it was feared that the initials CIA might jeopardise any aircraft flying over Cuba. Subsequently CAL was adopted. In order to meet the requirements of International Aviation, 51% of the shares of the new company had to be owned in the Cayman Islands. Planes belonging to CAL will be able to fly through the routes of other Commonwealth Carriers on a reciprocal basis. The government is investing £15,300 which represents the 51% or the controlling interest in the project.

The government will continue to subsidize the airline with the sum of £4,000 annually. Mr. Robert Morales told the House in Committee that the present CBA airline is only leased from LACSA and that whenever necessary Cayman Airways Ltd. could obtain a different aircraft.

As soon as the airstrips in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are enlarged, bigger planes will be put into operation. The new airline company also plans to lease jets and operate them on routes to Kingston, Miami, Belize, Bahamas and Mexico. Cayman Airways Ltd. has pledged to employ qualified Caymanian personell as it priority employees. Mr. Truman Bodden, Associate of the Institute of Bankers, only son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Bodden, of George Town recently passed the Law of Real Property Contract and Tort. This completed Part 1 of the examinations for call to the English Bar. Truman Bodden, who is a member of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in England will sit for his final examinations later next year. After that he will do post-final reading for six months in the Inns of Courts Law School.

He will then proceed to Jamaica where he will spend some time acquainting himself with legal work in Chambers.

He will then return to the Cayman Islands and enter the government