Dynamic Airways cancellations…Passengers have options to claim compensation from $40M bond – MPI

Jan 06, 2017 News

During the holiday season, cancellations by Dynamic Airways had left many stranded at

GCAA’s Director General, Col. (Ret’d) Egbert Field

the Cheddi Jagan and the John F Kennedy International Airports. The number of affected passengers were estimated to be somewhere over 300.
Roraima Airways – the ‘face’ of Dynamic, has since apologised for the inconvenience. The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) had called for a report from Dynamic, which was later submitted by Roraima.
Director General of the GCAA, Colonel (Retired) Egbert Field, informed media operatives that his agency is still in the process of reviewing the report which entailed what was already known – one of the aircraft was damaged and the other, suffering from mechanical issues, which resulted in another Dynamic Airways aircraft being taken off route to clear up the backlog.
“We are now reviewing this particular report to see: one, if it is factual and two, we are looking at some strategies to see what can be put in place to avoid such disruptions in the future.” Col. Field said.
$40M Bond
The veteran pilot was asked if there was any bond in place which would allow passengers to tap into in order to receive some kind of compensation. He replied in the affirmative.
Adding to his response was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Balram Balraj, who said that the Ministry is yet to receive any formal or official complaint from passengers about the disruption.
It was reported also that the Consumer Protection Agency, also did not receive any formal complaints. In fact, an official disclosed that many passengers are not aware that such a provision exists.
Balraj disclosed that Dynamic currently has a $40 Million bond lodged with the local aviation authority as part of its licensing agreement. He went on to explain that before any claim could be made on the bond, the Ministry must first get requests from passengers, since the bond is to refund passengers.
“In the Dynamic case, I think the passengers were stranded for two or three days and the bond could be done in a case where a passenger claims a refund, the Ministry would examine that claim and then effect that claim against the bond.  No one has filed a claim”, he said.
Adding to Balraj’s response was the Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, who stated that the Consumer Protection Agency is the body set up to deal with complaints and claims. He added that persons should use that agency to file their complaints.
Caribbean Airlines, Fly Jamaica incident
Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing into the accident at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) involving two aircraft.
Caribbean Airlines, back in November, had issued a statement saying that one of its planes, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, operating as BW 527, from JFK International, New York to CJIA, Guyana, was involved in an incident on the ramp. Preliminary investigations revealed that the Fly Jamaica Airways’ B767-300 was struck by the wing tip of the taxiing Caribbean Airlines aircraft.
Asked for an update yesterday, Col. Field said: “The results (from the investigation), we should have that shortly. I don’t want to put a timeline on the investigators, because it is a detailed investigation. Remember that investigation involves four countries: Guyana, where the incident occurred; Trinidad and Tobago, the country of registration and base of Caribbean Airlines; Jamaica, where Fly Jamaica is based; and the United States of America, where Fly Jamaica is registered.”
Because four countries are involved, the Director General said that the investigation will take a little longer. He added that the GCAA has designated investigators from those other countries and they have been invited by the authority’s Accidents Investigations Group.
“So the investigation is ongoing and soon as the Preliminary report comes out, it is expected to be forwarded to the subject Minister,” Col. Field said.