The regional air carrier, Caribbean Star officially closed its operations in accordance with its asset purchase agreement with another carrier, LIAT. While Caribbean Star's assets have not been completely transferred to LIAT, the airline's President and Chief Executive Officer William 'Skip' Barnette said there is no chance that it will re-launch, as sister airline Caribbean Sun did after closing its doors earlier this year. Last year, regional carriers LIAT and Caribbean Star Airlines agreed to the merger. The governments of Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda, the two major shareholders in LIAT said the merger was in the airline's best interest as both countries could not continue offering bailouts to keep it in operation. LIAT, which has been struggling for years, repositioned itself as a budget carrier last October to keep flying amid rising operational costs and increased competition. The company employs about 450 people in Antigua. Reprinted from radioja.com