Facing a 40 percent cut in the funding it receives from the United Kingdom government, the company that regulates air safety in the overseas territories will close its Caribbean office in the Virgin Islands, officials said.
Air Safety Support International, a company owned by the UK government, will close the office at the T.B. Lettsome International Airport later this summer. The office previously employed a staff of five, three of whom will continue to regulate from the UK, according to ASSI Chief Executive Officer Maria Boyle.
The other two positions will be eliminated, she wrote in an e-mail. She added that the closure will have “no impact” on the services the company provides, as it typically regulates most territories from the UK already.
“Indeed, the BVI is the only overseas territory that has had a permanent ASSI presence. ASSI is therefore very experienced and successful in regulating and supporting the territories from the UK,” she wrote in an e-mail.
See the June 23, 2011 edition for full coverage.