Airlines Reject VIPA Airport P3 Structure and Push $300 Million Alternative Plan

Major airlines serving the U.S. Virgin Islands are warning that the Virgin Islands Port Authority’s proposed airport public-private partnership would make the territory’s airports more expensive than competing regional airports and could place air service at risk. The carriers say they remain opposed to any model that is not economically supportable and will not enter into a lease, operating agreement, or rates-and-charges arrangement based on VIPA’s current structure. In a June 3 letter to Governor Albert Bryan Jr. and VIPA Interim Executive Director Ava Penn, the USVI Airlines Airport Affairs Committee also said its members are reserving all rights regarding procedural alternatives, signaling that additional formal action could be considered if VIPA continues on its current path. The letter represents a sharp escalation in the long-running dispute over VIPA’s full-scope airport P3 program, which the airlines say exceeds $1 billion and relies on a tariff-driven rate structure they v...