One has to wonder what the last government under the leadership of ex-premier McKeeva Bush has actually achieved apart from millions of dollars of wasted money and many hours of travelling all over the world plus much verbal diarrhea and blame on his predecessors for our country’s woes?

With the cruise ship berthing facility back to the beginning we now have the revelation that the Airport Project will have to start all over again.

Speaking at last Thursday’s (4) Press Briefing Tourism Minister, Cline Glidden, said a new independent business case assessment would now need to be carried out before the project could move towards a request for proposal on an open competitive tender.

The Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) has failed to persuade the Central Tenders Committee (CTC) via a business case that its proposed redevelopment could be offered to a sole bidder.

Glidden also revealed that an economic adviser from the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office had put forward a value for money case to purchase the old 737s, which are approaching the end of their lease (and their useful life?).

The UK will have to be persuaded that buying would save the public purse money over the return of the planes and the start of new leases.

However, this is the current CAL fleet:

VP-CKY just over 20 years old been with CAL since Nov 2003.

VP-CAY just over 20 years old been with CAL since Nov 2004.

VP-CKW just over 17 years old been with CAL since June 2008.

VP-CKZ just under 17 years old been with CAL since Jan 2009.

I have to ask do we actually have to buy the first two aircraft? Look at their age?

I would have thought the leasing company, ILFC, would have been pleased to hand them over. The cost of keeping them flying is rapidly going to exceed the revenue generated by leasing fees.

What is the actual history of all these aircraft?

The life of the other two is running out. Three years?

Have any of these aircraft actually had the benefit of a major maintenance facility?

And ….. ex-premier McKeeva Bush’s preliminary deal, with the owners of the Philippines airline PAL is no longer active.

We will now have to wait and see if we have to fork out another penalty for this one. At the time of writing it would appear no unpleasant skeleton asking for payment has appeared.