Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jun 16, 2020 News
The Guyana Civil Aviation authority (GCAA) has confirmed that over one hundred Guyanese, stuck in Barbados and Trinidad. will be repatriated via Caribbean Airlines (CAL) this week.
Director-General of the GCAA Egbert Field confirmed that a list of Guyanese passengers has been complied and forwarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the airlines.
“We are now waiting on the time set for the flights by CAL,” Field said, “We anticipate it should be another two to three days before they are ready, given that the CAL needs get its aircraft and crew active and ready for these repatriation flights.”
Commenting upon the initial delay in booking the flights for the Guyanese passengers, the GCAA Head noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to first compile a feasible list of persons who would be able to cover the cost of the chartered flight back home.
“We had to take into consideration,” he told Kaieteur News, “that these are not commercial flights they are chartered which means they are operating at a higher costs to the individuals booking them. We could not confirm with the airlines because we had to ensure that the list contained enough people to cover the cost. The issue here was feasibility.”
The flights were scheduled to repatriate Guyanese from Barbados and Trinidad on June 11th.
In a statement issued to the press, CAL noted the GCAA had advised that the necessary processes were not yet completed by the Guyana Authorities and they were unable to provide the listing of nationals for repatriation to Caribbean Airlines, which would facilitate the advertising of the flight and booking of passengers. In short, the deadline was not met because there were not enough passengers on the list to make the booking.
CAL has said however that the airline will continue talks with the Government of Guyana and the GCAA regarding proposed operations to repatriate Guyana nationals who have been stranded across the region since the closure of borders due COVID-19.
“Caribbean Airlines remains committed to supporting repatriation efforts for the citizens of Guyana and looks forward to the completion of the processes and the provision of the necessary approvals from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority,” the airline said in the statement.
Meanwhile, given the new safety measure due to COVID-19, the airline noted the Public Health Authorities, Caribbean Airlines Cabin and Flight Crews will operate in full compliance with the instructions of the authorities and have strict procedures by which to work. Due to additional safety measures, passengers are expected to arrive at their respective airports 4 hours prior to scheduled flight departure to allow sufficient time for check-in and security processes.
Passengers will be required to wear face masks throughout their entire journey from check-in, at the gate and onboard the aircraft. There will be no meal service offered on these flights and passengers are encouraged to walk with light snacks and personal hygiene items such as wipes and hand sanitizers.
The airline continues to enforce the most stringent hygiene practices, adhering to all the current international guidelines, to combat COVID-19.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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