Leadership Turbulence at Caribbean Airlines: When Leadership Loses Altitude

By Dr. Gregory Haughton, Leadership Strategist & Executive Mentor

Caribbean Airlines is more than an airline; it's a symbol of Caribbean pride. For decades, people from across the region have cherished flying with an airline they could call their own. Yet after years of turbulence, many are asking a familiar question: Why do Caribbean Airlines' struggles never seem to end?

After examining its history and leadership patterns, I have found that Caribbean Airlines is struggling not because of external forces, but because its leadership lacks clarity, accountability, and direction. The only way forward is through intentional, disciplined, values-based leadership that takes command of the flight path.

Leadership defines altitude. When vision, accountability, and communication lose alignment, even the best-equipped organization begins to descend. Caribbean Airlines (CAL), once a regional emblem of excellence, has become a sobering case study in how inconsistent leadership, political interference, and weak governance can ground potential. Despite government support and deep national symbolism, CAL's recent leadership turbulence, executive resignations, unprofitable routes, missing audits, and employee disillusionment reveal a more profound crisis: a failure of intentional leadership.

To rise from the ashes, Caribbean Airlines must take a hard look at the real reasons behind its failure. Every transformation begins with truth, and the company has operated for years without financial transparency or genuine self-assessment. The recent revelation that CAL spent more than TT$60 million on audits from Ernst & Young and PwC while failing to submit a single audited financial statement in nearly a decade reflects more than administrative negligence; it exposes a fundamental lack of honest reflection [1].

This pattern of financial opacity creates a dangerous cycle. Without deep self-examination, those calling the shots will never uncover the root causes of failure. Confronting this truth will be uncomfortable, but it is absolutely necessary. CAL's executives have failed to define their current position accurately, making it impossible to chart a sustainable flight path forward. This brings us to the second critical failure: the absence of clear direction.

Vision Without Direction Is Just Motion

A company can only fly in two directions, forward or down, and Caribbean Airlines has yet to decide which it wants. Its vision has oscillated between commercial viability and political prestige, creating confusion at every level of the organization. Unprofitable routes were launched for image rather than strategy, with Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley noting that "not one single Caribbean Airlines route is profitable" [2].

The Cost of Emotional Immaturity

The frequent executive turnover at Caribbean Airlines tells a story of deeper dysfunction. The recent resignation of CEO Garvin Medera, following a pattern of leadership instability, points to a systemic problem with emotional maturity at the top [3]. When leaders react instead of respond, when blame-shifting becomes the norm, and when employee morale consistently suffers, the organization's culture fractures.

Emotional intelligence is not a "soft skill", it's structural. It builds trust, psychological safety, and consistency, which every organization needs to thrive. Aviation requires precision and calm under pressure; leadership should be no different. However, emotional intelligence alone cannot solve CAL's problems without effective communication systems to support it.

Communication: The Missing Engine

Ineffective communication has been a major stumbling block throughout CAL's struggles. Silence breeds suspicion, and inconsistent messaging from the airline's leadership has systematically eroded confidence among staff, unions, and customers. The lack of transparency around financial audits, route decisions, and leadership changes has created an information vacuum filled by speculation and mistrust.

Communication must be clear, consistent, and credible, especially during a crisis. Influence is not about authority; it's about alignment. Great leaders speak with clarity and listen with humility. Yet even the best communication strategy fails without disciplined execution to back it up.

Execution: The Bridge Between Vision and Reality

Even the best plans fail without disciplined execution, and CAL's management has consistently struggled to convert goals into measurable performance systems. Route planning lacks strategic rigor, fleet utilization remains suboptimal, and customer experience initiatives lack accountability metrics. Leadership must define clear KPIs, empower teams with the resources they need, and monitor progress relentlessly.

Execution is the bridge between strategy and results. Without it, vision becomes merely wishful thinking. This execution deficit has prevented CAL from building the sustainable systems necessary for long-term success.

Due to years of instability, CAL has been unable to build a lasting brand or achieve sustainable operational excellence. Every leadership change effectively resets the cockpit, erasing institutional knowledge and disrupting continuity. True leadership builds beyond individual tenure; it creates systems that sustain performance regardless of who occupies the corner office.

The airline's turnaround will depend on embedding values-based leadership, transparent governance, and genuine regional collaboration. A culture rooted in integrity and discipline could once again make Caribbean Airlines a symbol of Caribbean excellence rather than a cautionary tale of squandered potential.

Caribbean Airlines doesn't need another bailout; it requires a comprehensive reboot of its leadership mindset. The future of Caribbean aviation depends not on planes and policies, but on leaders who are self-aware, visionary, emotionally intelligent, communicative, and disciplined in execution. Leadership without direction is like flying without navigation; you may have fuel, but no destination. It's time for Caribbean Airlines to lead rather than drift, to rebuild trust rather than repair blame, and to chart a course toward sustainable excellence. The Caribbean deserves leaders and airlines that can rise above turbulence with purpose, integrity, and vision. The real question is not whether Caribbean Airlines can be saved, but whether its leadership dares to embrace the transformation required to make that flight possible.

References

[1] Tancoo, D. (2025, October 13). Tancoo: CAL spent $60m on audits but filed no accounts. Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. https://newsday.co.tt/2025/10/13/tancoo-cal-spent-60m-on-audits-but-filed-no-accounts/

[2] Caribbean Today. (2025, August 28). T & T Prime Minister Says Caribbean Airlines is Not Operating on a Profitable Basis. https://www.caribbeantoday.com/sections/business-blog/t-t-prime-minister-says-caribbean-airlines-is-not-operating-on-a-profitable-basis

[3] Trinidad Express. (2025, October 14). CAL launches full audit as Medera resignation finally confirmed. https://trinidadexpress.com/business/cal-launches-full-audit-as-medera-resignation-finally-confirmed/article_eb201017-8cbf-42c2-a979-a99fa109fca8.html