SVG Air’s Twin Otter aircraft will resume service to Montserrat at the end of this month.
This announcement from founder and CEO of SVG Air, Paul Gravel.
Speaking on the “What’s on Your Mind” radio Programme Tuesday morning, Mr Gravel explained the challenges faced which affected their service to Montserrat.
He said a main challenge was a delay in corrosion repair on the Twin otter Aircraft. “Well, the Twin Otter, that is going to be back at the end of this month, it has had some major delays because we had to remove the wing and repair corrosion internally. And to do that, you have to remove 4,000 rivets, take the wing apart, replace a lot of the longer arms and spars in the wing.
Gravel says a shortage of rivets has compounded the problem.
“The company that makes the rivets burnt to the ground in February of 2025. So there’s a worldwide rivet shortage. And the manufacturer of the wing is flying all over the world, repairing wings for the same problems we have, which is corrosion because the Twin Otters primarily used in saltwater conditions….. he’s very busy and he’s the only one that can do the final repair on the aircraft. So we’ve been waiting for him for two months. So it’s, it’s been very challenging. It’s been a very expensive exercise. We’ve, we’re about a million dollars into it so far. By the end of this month, it should be parked in Antigua to start back our service to Montserrat.”
Mr Gravel also notes SVG Air’s current lack of Islander pilots. He said pilots are currently being trained, but explains that challenges are being encountered in the licensing process.