After 72 hours…Caribbean Airlines moves to send Guyanese in NY to hotels

Sep 01, 2011 News

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–    Tourism Minister notes CAL local officials mum

After three days and nights at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, nearly 300 people bound for Guyana blocked the boarding gate to protest the continuing departure of Caribbean Airlines passengers to other Caribbean destinations.
The Guyana-bound passengers, among them Senior Counsel Bernard DeSantos and Guyana Cricket Board official Bissoondial Singh, had confirmed reservations for Sunday. They turned up at the airport only to find that the flight had been cancelled.
They were however promised a special charter to Guyana. That flight was scheduled to depart on Monday. Their luggage had already been checked so when they insisted on the return of their luggage, the airline simply informed them that it would be impossible. Early yesterday, an elderly woman had to be rushed to hospital after her three-day stint at the airport. Passengers said that prior to the woman’s collapse, CAL personnel were conspicuously absent. Calls to the 1-800 number to connect to the airline went unanswered.
Angered passengers, with raised voices, sought answers to the query of when they would get home. This attracted airport security who promised mass arrests.
There was one break on Tuesday when people from Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) distributed chits that offered the people a chance to secure meals at fast food outlets within the airport. However, many of the people could not secure a change of clothing. Those with children suffered the most.
And while the Guyanese were suffering people headed to Jamaica, to Trinidad and to Barbados. One stranded passenger said that nine of the people from the Caribbean countries who were delayed by Hurricane Irene were in New York. CAL had got all of them out at the expense of the Guyanese.
Those Guyanese who sought to change airlines learnt that there were just no seats. Delta said that it could not book anyone before Saturday.
Yesterday, as if to confirm that the Guyanese would have to remain in New York for longer, CAL offered them accommodation in nearby hotels. But the Guyanese were refusing this offer since they insisted that it is about time some of them leave for home.
There was still no word about their luggage. Back in Guyana there was no word of official involvement.
Manniram Prashad, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce expressed concerns over the unfair treatment of Guyanese passengers stranded due to the cancellation of a number of Caribbean Airlines flights.
Speaking to the media, he said it is indeed a fiasco, explaining that following the reopening of the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport on Monday night, Caribbean Airlines promised that they would be chartering special flights from North America to take stranded passengers out of Guyana.
He said the first flight was scheduled to leave on Tuesday at 04:30 hrs which saw passengers checking in as early as 22:00 hrs on Monday night, only to be told shortly before the scheduled departure that the flight will be arriving later in the day around 06:30 hrs.
The Minister disclosed that passengers waited patiently but that flight did not materialise and later in the day, they were told that the flight would depart at 18:30 hrs and at that time there was no flight as well.
Prashad said yesterday afternoon just around the scheduled time of departure, they were told that the flight would not be coming anymore; it will now depart Guyana at 20:00 hrs tonight.
“So this callous treatment of Caribbean Airlines to Guyanese is unacceptable. It is contempt for all Guyanese and we strongly protest this kind of treatment meted out to Guyanese,” he said.
He alluded to some of the lame excuses heard, including from passengers at JFK, who were also told that there would be a special charter flight.
“In fact, some Guyanese were bumped from a flight that they were scheduled to fly on because they were told that a flight will take them directly from JFK to Georgetown… that flight did not materialise also,” Prashad explained.
He said that one of the excuses was Hurricane Irene, noting that it has gone a long time ago and the airport reopened since Monday night.
“We can understand an act of nature – Hurricane Irene, but this is not Hurricane Irene and no excuse will be accepted for this kind of treatment,” Prashad said. “They were then told after inquiries that it was a mistake, not Hurricane Irene, someone misinformed them that the aircraft that they had chartered to bring the Guyanese home had mechanical problems.”
He said prior to all of this, he spoke to Carl Stewart, Manager of Caribbean Airlines Limited in Guyana, who said the airline has made all arrangements to bring Guyanese back home and he will keep him updated.
However, Minister Prashad said since that discussion, several efforts have been made to contact the local officials here without success as well as George Nicholas, the Chairman of CAL.
The Minister said efforts will continue to be made to contact the officials of Caribbean Airlines.
He noted that “the Caribbean Airlines issue is an ongoing issue with several problems in the past” regarding complaints of Guyanese passengers being treated unfairly and discussions were held in this regard.”
“They had said that they would change this but nothing has happened,” the Tourism Minister noted.
He said it has also been brought to his attention that some of the aircraft that went to JFK deliberately left Guyanese and selectively took other nationals from JFK.
“Now I have to confirm this (but) if this is true, this is blatant discrimination against Guyanese and it is totally unacceptable – these are some of the statements that are coming out of stranded passengers,” he said.
Prashad said that over 600 passengers are affected in Guyana, adding, “I think that this situation has really gone out of control and all these discussions we are having and promises are to no avail – maybe the time has come now when we seriously have to get back into the airline business.”
To this end, he said more airlines are needed into Guyana and efforts are being made, as discussions are ongoing with several airlines like Jet Blue, Suriname Airways and KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines).

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