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Passengers, travel agents impatient over Fly Jamaica refunds
Passengers of Fly Jamaica Airways who were left in limbo after an early November crash-landing at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, will have to wait a little while longer for refunds.
The regulator, Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), which is tasked with licensing, said that there is little that can be done at the moment as the company has not been closed.
Rather, company officials were called in recently, where according to Director-General Lt. Colonel (Ret’d), Egbert Field, the “displeasure” of the authority was made known.
Fly Jamaica’s chief, Captain Ronald Reece
It is believed that hundreds of tickets were sold by travel agencies in Guyana, Canada and New York.
Travel agents, especially in New York, have been complaining bitterly of passengers demanding their money, almost four months since the crash left the airline scrambling to find aircraft.
This past week, Captain Ronald Reece, a principal of the company, said that Fly Jamaica is working to issue a statement. He appealed for patience as the airline moves to take to the skies again.
According to Field, a number of persons had filed complaints with the authority over the sloth in refunds. About three weeks ago, the airline officials were called in.
“We expressed our displeasure…our concerns, about these individuals, who were writing us letters stating they had asked for a refund. Fly Jamaica did inform that they were attending to those passengers, but that it will take time, because procedures when it comes to credit card clearances, when buying tickets, takes some time to clear by the clearing house,” the GCAA’s chief disclosed last week.
It was said that Fly Jamaica assured that the matter was being “taken” care of and that each and every passenger will be compensated or reimbursed.
Reece did indicate last week that some passengers had reclaimed their money from their credit card companies and then came to the travel agents and claimed too. The checking is taking place to ensure that there are no other duplicated payments.
According to the Director-General, the regulatory body can only inform Fly Jamaica of its concerns of the refund and hope they take care of it.
Questioned about a mandatory $40M cash bond that the company would have had to deposit, Field said that it cannot be touched unless the company closes.
GCAA’s Director General, Lt. Col. Egbert Field
“We cannot give them a timeline unless they decide to close. When we need various documents from the home base and if they cannot submit them to us, then we can declare that they no longer have the approval of authority to fly. We have not reached that stage yet.”
He acknowledged that the crash was a devastating blow for Fly Jamaica and “I hope they rise like a Phoenix out of the ashes…”
The last statement issued by the airline was on November 23 where an apology was offered.
“We are working tirelessly to find replacement capacity and restore our friendly service back to normal. The vast majority of our passengers have been highly supportive and understanding of our challenges and we thank them for their patience during what has been a difficult period for us,” the Facebook statement said.
Fly Jamaica had said that it is cooperating with authorities to determine the cause of the crash-landing of its Boeing 757 aircraft on November 9, 2018.
The crashed Fly Jamaica aircraft just off the CJIA runway.
The Fly Jamaica flight OJ256 departed CJIA for Toronto, Canada. About 15 minutes into the flight, passengers recalled that the pilot reported that the aircraft was experiencing problems with its hydraulic system and needed to return to CJIA.
According to flight maps, the airplane circled before attempting to land.
There were 128 persons onboard.
Passengers recounted that upon touchdown, the aircraft sped past the airport’s terminal, past the end of the existing runway and onto the newly extended portion of the runway, which is not officially open. It is being said that the pilot experienced brake failure when he touched down.
The aircraft careened into the chain linked fence before coming to rest in the trap at the end of the runway with the front of the plane perched above a ravine.
The right wing of the aircraft was broken along with the engine. Government had appointed Paula McAdam, a former senior official of GCAA, to investigate the crash.
The absence of Fly Jamaica would be hard felt in a market that needs the seats for especially the New York destination.
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