ST JOHNS, Antigua – The man who once commanded the world’s busiest airport—shepherding 100 million passengers annually through Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson with a billion-dollar budget—has returned home to fix what should never have been broken.
Miguel Southwell’s appointment as interim CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority isn’t just a homecoming story; it’s a stark admission that five years after losing its Category 1 aviation status, the Eastern Caribbean remains trapped in a regulatory purgatory that threatens its economic lifeline.
The FAA’s Category 2 rating, imposed on the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States in May 2020, means carriers cannot initiate new service to the United States and are restricted to current levels of existing service.
For islands where tourism accounts for over 60% of GDP, this isn’t just a technical setback—it’s an economic stranglehold that grows tighter with each passing month.
The Price of Regulatory Failure
The numbers tell a damning story. While Caribbean competitors expand their U.S. route networks to capture post-pandemic travel demand, Antigua watches from the sidelines, shackled by a rating that essentially brands its aviation oversight as substandard.
The Category 2 designation means laws or regulations lack necessary requirements to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or civil aviation authorities are deficient in technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, inspection procedures or resolution of safety concerns.
This isn’t about unsafe planes or reckless pilots—it’s about bureaucratic infrastructure that failed to keep pace with international standards.
The bitter irony? V.C. Bird International Airport just recorded its busiest day ever in December 2024, handling 51 flights in a single day.
The demand is there. The infrastructure is improving. But without Category 1 status, Antigua cannot fully capitalize on its geographic advantage as the Caribbean’s eastern gateway.
The Southwell Solution: Expertise Meets Urgency
When you need to fix a crisis, you call in someone who’s operated at the highest levels of global aviation. Southwell isn’t just any consultant—he’s aviation royalty with a distinctly Antiguan passport.
His trajectory from LIAT in 1973 to becoming Atlanta’s “CEO of the Year” in 2016 reads like a masterclass in aviation management. But his return raises an uncomfortable question: Why did Antigua need to wait for a crisis to tap its most accomplished aviation expert?
The government’s decision to engage Brakkam Aviation Management, with Southwell at the helm, signals both ambition and desperation.
Minister Charles ‘Max’ Fernandez confirmed that while Antigua is ready in many respects, the push for Category 1 is a collective OECS effort that requires harmonised legislation and technical readiness across all member states. Translation: Antigua can’t solve this alone, even with Southwell’s expertise.
His six years on the World Governing Board of Airports Council International, his leadership of Miami International Airport’s cargo operations, and his role in CARICOM’s post-COVID aviation recovery plan make him uniquely qualified. But qualifications don’t automatically translate into quick fixes when you’re battling institutional inertia across six island nations.
The Infrastructure Gamble
Money is finally flowing, but is it too little, too late? The government’s announced $165 million airport modernization plan sounds impressive until you realize it’s addressing problems that should have been solved years ago.
The US$47 million runway resurfacing project, expected to take 10-12 months with work conducted during night hours, is just one piece of a complex puzzle.
The ECCAA headquarters has been unoccupied for several months due to structural concerns—a perfect metaphor for the region’s aviation oversight.
How can you meet international standards when your regulatory body literally doesn’t have a functioning home? The Cabinet’s commitment to repair the building and provide resources for specialized experts feels like catching up rather than moving forward.
The Regional Albatross
Here’s where Antigua’s challenge becomes truly Sisyphean: even if Southwell works miracles at V.C. Bird, the country remains chained to its OECS partners.
The Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority provides aviation safety oversight for OECS members Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, as well as St. Vincent and the Grenadines. One weak link in this chain—one island that fails to implement required reforms—and everyone stays in Category 2 purgatory.
This collective punishment system creates a maddening dynamic. Antigua could invest hundreds of millions, pass every piece of legislation, hire every expert, and still remain stuck because Dominica or Grenada couldn’t meet deadlines.
It’s regional integration’s dark side: shared standards mean shared failures. The 2026 ICAO audit looming on the horizon adds another layer of pressure—fail that, and the situation could deteriorate further.
The silence from other OECS members about their own preparedness is deafening. While Antigua publicly commits resources and brings in world-class expertise, what are its partners doing? The lack of visible urgency from some member states suggests they either don’t grasp the economic consequences or lack the resources to act. Either scenario spells trouble.
The Clock and the Competition
Time isn’t neutral in aviation. Every month in Category 2 is a month where competitors strengthen their positions. The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos—all maintaining Category 1 status—are eating Antigua’s lunch in the U.S. market. New routes that could have connected Boston or Philadelphia to St. John’s are instead flowing to Nassau or Providenciales.
As a Cabinet statement noted, “Restoring Category 1 status is essential for boosting tourism and trade in the Eastern Caribbean.” Essential, yes, but the statement’s bureaucratic blandness masks the urgency. This isn’t about boosting—it’s about survival in a hyper-competitive Caribbean tourism market where airlift determines winners and losers.
The Bottom Line: Sovereignty Meets Reality
Southwell’s appointment represents a fascinating paradox: Antigua bringing in its most accomplished son to fix a problem that extends beyond its borders. His success at Atlanta—managing an airport that handles more passengers in a week than V.C. Bird sees in months—proves he has the technical chops. But can even the most skilled technician repair a machine when he only controls some of its parts?
The 2026 ICAO audit deadline creates a finite window. Either the Eastern Caribbean gets its act together collectively, or it risks further marginalization in global aviation.
Southwell’s presence offers hope, but hope isn’t a strategy. The real question is whether the political will exists across all six OECS members to make the painful reforms necessary.
For Antigua, betting $165 million on airport infrastructure while its regulatory foundation remains shaky is like renovating a house with a cracked foundation. It might look better, but the structural problems remain. Southwell understands this—his emphasis on “world-class management systems” signals he’s thinking beyond cosmetic fixes.
The harsh truth? Five years after the downgrade, the Eastern Caribbean still hasn’t figured out how to work together effectively on aviation oversight.
Southwell’s appointment might be the catalyst for change, or it might be another well-intentioned effort that founders on the rocks of regional dysfunction.
What’s certain is that Antigua can no longer afford to wait for its neighbors. If Southwell can’t orchestrate a regional solution, perhaps it’s time for Antigua to consider whether shared failure is worse than going it alone. WiredJA
