327 stranded Guyanese return home from Trinidad, Barbados

A total of 327 Guyanese who were stuck in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados owing to the coronavirus pandemic returned home on Friday.

These passengers were scheduled to return home on June 11, but the flights were cancelled as the Foreign Affairs Ministry failed to submit the list of passengers to the airlines.

Nevertheless, the Caribbean Airlines flights landed at the

Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Friday with jubilation on the faces of the Guyanese who have been away from home for more than four months.

Upon landing at the CJIA, one of the passengers who has been stuck in Trinidad

for over three months stated that the process she had to endure to return home was “terrible”.
“I have been in Trinidad for three months and a week. My experience was terrible, and the process was very aggravating; it came to the point where I wanted to give up, but I am here, and I am very happy to be home, and I never missed Guyana this much,” Onita Edwards stated.
Another passenger, Levi Holmes, added, “I have a business in Barbados, and I was there for four months, and because of COVID-19 pandemic, I was stuck there, and I am happy to be back home.”
A student who was stuck in Trinidad stated she is relieved to finally be home. “I have been in Trinidad for about two months now. I was there for University, and I am happy to be home,” Tenesha Collins concluded.
One employee of the Royal Cruise Liner who was on the ship since March said that he was elated when he boarded that CAL flight in Barbados.
“I knew for certain; I am heading home… I personally am delighted to be back home with my family and I do hope intend to spend some real family time with them,” he added.
On Tuesday, 48 Guyanese returned home from the United States of America after being stranded in that country for more than four months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to that, 168 Guyanese came back two Wednesdays ago on an Eastern Airlines flight – the third such repatriation flight.
Those flights had departed from Miami International Airport, whereas the flight on Wednesday last had departed from the JFK Airport in New York.
The National COVID-19 Task Force has approved the controlled re-entry of approximately 300 Guyanese through the nation’s international airports, provided they follow a series of strict guidelines, including securing a negative COVID-19 test before travelling to Guyana and agreeing to self-quarantine on arrival here.
Another repatriation flight out of the US is expected sometime in the new week as there are some 1000 stranded Guyanese in that country.