Prime Minister Gaston Browne has told critics that they should stop being so negative about Antigua Airways and embrace the new entity.

The new airline, linking the twin island nation directly to West Africa, is expected to begin flights in mid-October.

A formal agreement was signed between the government of Antigua and Barbuda and Nigerian publishing and printing firm Marvelous Mike Press Limited at the office of the Prime Minister recently.

But the Opposition United Progressive Party has said: “seeing is believing”. They claimed that the new agreement is another pie in the sky that may never see the light of day.

However, PM Browne said on Sunday that those opposing the idea, are not looking at the broader issue.

“They are probably just looking at Gaston Browne and the ABLP. I keep saying that these issues are not partisan issues,” Browne said.

According to him, Caribbean people are historically linked to Africa, making the move even more fundamental.

“We have an investor here who is pursuing a pioneer move to establish air links between Africa and the Caribbean, I think it should be commended. between Africa and the Caribbean, I think it should be commended and we should all hope for the success of this initiative. I don’t see any value to wish that it fails or be negative about it,” Browne said over the weekend.

The Nigerian investors will finance the operations of Antigua Airways while the government of Antigua and Barbuda will receive 20 percent of the profits.