The Bahamas Appeal Court has ordered defunct Sky Bahamas (Nassau International) to provide a security bond of USD50,000 by December 8, 2023, as a prerequisite for appealing a Supreme Court judgement that mandated it to pay almost USD220,000 plus interest to maintenance company AOG Investments.
The October 6 ruling by Appeal Court deputy registrar Anishka Pennerman stipulates that Sky Bahamas' appeal is stayed until the security bond is submitted. Should the company default, the appeal will be dismissed with costs.
Initially, AOG Investments demanded a security bond of USD1,116,784.64, later reduced to USD500,000.
Sky Bahamas ceased operations on termination of its air operator's certificate (AOC) on August 19, 2019. Pennerman found overwhelming evidence of Sky Bahamas' insolvency, with the airline itself acknowledging it was impecunious. "Its ascertainable and liquidated exposure in costs and judgments awarded against it is more than USD700,000; significantly, none of the affidavits filed on behalf of Sky Bahamas dispute that these amounts are still outstanding."
In an affidavit, Sky Bahamas CEO Randy Butler outlined that neither he nor the airline could raise the required security bond for the following reasons:
Strained banking relationships due to allegations of fraud raised in several court cases;
Butler's personal indebtedness; and
Sky Bahamas' former financier, Fred Kaiser, is now its primary legal opponent.
The financial burden on the airline, as stated in court, includes the following:
Outstanding taxes of USD77,307.84;
USD219,928.26 plus interest in damages owed to AOG Maintenance Company Ltd;
USD819,548.54 in legal costs related to the Supreme Court case; and
USD394,244.56 in damages to Nassau Airport Development Company Limited.
Additionally, Butler was found to have an outstanding credit card debt of USD67,139.85 to the Royal Bank of Canada, which he had improperly tried to attribute to the airline's corporate debt, Pennerman noted.
The defunct airline also faces an unresolved labour dispute before the Bahamas Industrial Tribunal stemming from the dismissal of 43 employees after the suspension of operations.
-Source(ch-avition)
