Montserrat Tackles Transport Crunch

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Thursday, 18 October 2012 02:30

By press release

Antigua St. John's - The grounding of Fly Montserrat has created something of an inter-island transportation crisis in the neighbouring isle, and the government of Premier Reuben T. Meade is moving swiftly to alleviate the unexpected shortage.

In one move, the Ministry of Communications & Works announced Wednesday that the MV Carib Surf will be providing ferry service between Antigua and Montserrat twice daily this weekend.

MV Carib Surf will make two round trips this Friday and Saturday to accommodate passengers and the cargo backlog in Antigua. The ferry will leave Montserrat at 7am and 3pm, with return from Antigua at 9am and 5:30pm.

The ride is estimated at one hour and 10 minutes, and persons needing more information about the ferry service are asked to contact Roosevelt Jemmotte and 496-9912.

MV Carib Queen is on dry dock for its regular maintenance ahead of the busy festival season, and will be back in service on Thursday, 25 October.

In the meantime, the Montserrat Government also on Wednesday announced that St. Vincent & the Grenadines Airlines (SVG Air) will be adding more flights to meet the demands of the flying public.

Premier Reuben T. Meade said discussions will continue with SVG and another regional airline to ensure that with the coming festival season visitors will be able to travel to and from Montserrat.

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He added that the ferry will be another reliable alternative for nationals and others planning to come home for the annual festival celebrations.

“It’s important to reiterate that we are aware of the critical importance of residents and visitors being able to travel when they need to. That is why we have been pursuing relationships with other carriers to ensure that both our air and sea access meet the needs of travellers,” Premier Meade said.

Presently the government is soliciting bids for both ferry and air travel services to support the current transportation needs.

SVG Air has been providing daily flights between Antigua and Montserrat since March 2011. Travellers with bookings on Fly Montserrat need to get in touch with the airline at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 664-491-3434, so that they can make transfer arrangements along with payments to SVG Air. SVG Air can be reached online at www.svgair.com and by telephone at 664-491-4200.

Montserrat will observe its 50th Festival celebrations from December 14 to January 2.

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