American Airlines’ inaugural NY-bound flight delayed for 12 hours

The first direct flight from Guyana to New York offered by American Airlines left scores of Guyanese stranded for several hours at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, on Thursday morning.

The passengers who were scheduled to depart Guyana at 01:35h on the day in question on the inaugural American Airlines flight to the John F Kennedy (JFK) International Airport, New York, were stuck at the airport for many hours as a result of multiple factors.
Guyana Times understands that those passengers were forced to remain at the CJIA after their direct flight encountered the delay as a result of bad weather. Other issues that compounded the matter also resulted in almost four hours of delay by the incoming flight arriving from the JFK airport.

Shortly after the situation occurred, Justin Franco, a spokesman for American Airlines, in response to the delay, stated that due to weight restrictions, the aircraft had to make a stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU).
“The stop was required to put additional fuel to get to Georgetown,” he said.
Once the flight arrived in Guyana, scores of passengers at the CJIA were told that the crew required rest, hence their flight was rescheduled to depart at about 13:30h.
American Airlines began operations in Guyana last year, with direct flights to Miami. This is the first time they are introducing direct flights to New York.
American Airlines’ daily flights were scheduled to leave JFK at 18:00h and arrive at CJIA at 12:40h the following day. The return flight is scheduled to leave CJIA, Timehri at 01:35h and arrive at JFK at 06:29h.
On August 21, another American Airlines flight was delayed after the aircraft suffered a blowout from a raised runway light at the CJIA, leaving over 100 passengers stranded.
The incident occurred just after midnight as American Airlines flight AA1512 was taxiing down the runway for take-off to Miami.
Guyana Times understands that the aircraft had run over the temporary runway lighting, which damaged the wheels of the plane.
The temporary lighting system was installed to facilitate extension works at the CJIA runway.
All 128 passengers and five crew members aboard that American Airlines aircraft were transported via buses from the aircraft back to the terminal building.
This was the second incident involving an American Airlines flight in a two-week period in the month of August. When the first incident took place, passengers on another American Airlines flight faced delays after the plane experienced compression issues while in air, forcing it to return to Guyana. Those passengers were transported the following day.
These issues came when American Airlines was gearing up to expand services here in Guyana with the commencement of non-stop flights from Georgetown to New York City.