Latest update November 8th, 2024 1:00 AM
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Not enough passengers for second repatriation flights to take off
Two Caribbean Airlines flights scheduled to return stranded Guyanese form Barbados and Trinidad have failed to take off on Thursday.
A stranded Guyanese in Florida pleading with authorities to be repatriated
Director of the Guyana Civil Aviations Authority (GCAA) Egbert Field justified that the flights did not take off because of insufficient passengers.
Field said that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines are not operating as per normal. In order for a flight to leave the airport, Field says that it will have to be chartered. The GCAA director asserted that if the chartered flight cost is not met then it won’t take off.
In the case of these two Caribbean airlines flights, Field explained that some passengers did meet requirements by submitting their repatriation forms and negative novel coronavirus test results.
However, there is still a great majority who failed to do so.
As a result the airline decided to post-pone its flights until all passengers are able to so. If it had decided to take off with only those who had met the requirements then it would not have been able to achieve the overall charter price for the two flights.
These decisions, however, have caused some amount of concern among the passengers met requirements and are currently on standby.
Speaking with Kaieteur News was stranded Guyanese professional cricketer, Steve Ramdass. Ramdass, who is currently in Trinidad, said that he deeply worried at the fact that those on standby might have to redo their Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests for COVID-19.
He explained that they were told by the relevant authorities of Guyana that test results will be deemed invalid if they are more than 48 hours old. The cricketer said that they were told by the Consulate based in Trinidad that the flights were cancelled on Thursday but were never informed as to when the airline will be ready again.
If the rescheduled date surpasses 48 hours then he will have to do another test which cost some TT$1600 (GYD$50,000).
“Some will not be able to pay for another test because they already sacrificed themselves to find money to pay for the initial test” said Ramdass.
This publication understands that some passengers had to contribute money together just to pay for those who could not afford to do the tests.
Halle Wilson who travelled to Trinidad back in March for vacation is one such person. Wilson told this Media house that she has been stranded for more than three months and has ran out cash. She managed to secure US$398 for her ticket but could raise enough to pay for her PCR test. Other stranded Guyanese learnt of her plight and each contributed TT$100 towards her TT$1600 test cost.
With news that flights will not be taking off, Wilson is now worried that she won’t have money to redo a PCR test should flights not leave within 48 hours.
Also echoing the same sentiments is Vasti Ragnaught who is also stranded in Trinidad.
She pleads with authorities to accept the same test results if flights do not leave in the next three days. She iterated that there are those who will not have money to pay for a second test and as a result can be denied entry. She said that if denied entry, the stranded will be left to suffer without finances to maintain themselves in a foreign country.
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