Passengers have, for several days, been stranded without word of when they could possibly travel, but Fly Jamaica Airways has — only now — devised an operations recovery plan.
The announcement of this plan was made on Monday, and airline officials have said this plan will take effect from today, as they move to lease an aircraft.
It was however noted that this aircraft has a limited schedule, and passengers have been advised to stay at home until they are notified of their flight schedule.
“Passengers will be notified of their flight departure. Fly Jamaica Airways requests that passengers desist from going to their local airport for departure, unless notified by an airline representative,” the airlines said on Monday evening. In explaining the delays, Fly Jamaica Airways has said that its aircraft are currently undergoing scheduled and unscheduled maintenance checks. It noted that these checks are required at this time.
“Fly Jamaica Airways will advise as soon as one or both of its aircraft are returned to service. As a result, the airline is engaging third party carriers to support the operation,” it explained.
It further explained, “The sourcing of alternative aircraft from lessors has become increasingly challenging due to the unavailability of suitable aircraft and/or the unavailability of flight crews to operate the flights.”
It was also explained that due to the severe weather conditions in the northeast region of the United States, and specifically in New York, Terminal One at JFK International Airport has been limiting arrivals and departures, due to ramp congestion and several other issues relating to weather conditions.
“Fly Jamaica Airways sincerely regrets the inconvenience our irregular operations have caused. We are utilizing every available resource to recover the operation and return to our regular schedule as soon as possible”, the airline has offered.
Meanwhile, management of Fly Jamaica Airways has been summoned to a meeting with officials at the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) following an increase in flight cancellations and delays. That meeting is scheduled for today.
Passengers travelling on Fly Jamaica flights out of Guyana to Toronto, Canada have been left stranded with no word from the airlines since last Thursday.
The notice on Fly Jamaica website
This newspaper was told that no agents contacted passengers to inform them not to travel to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, since their flight had been cancelled. Guyana Times has been told that passengers travelling from Toronto to Guyana have also been stranded at the Pearson International Airport.
This is not the first time that Fly Jamaica has experienced major delays. In December 2017, a few days before Christmas, frustrated passengers had complained that flights between Georgetown and New York were cancelled before of technical problems the airline was experiencing. In that instance, passengers had taken to social media and bashed the airline for keeping them in the dark.
In July last year, passengers of the same airline had vented their frustrations, again on social media, as a result of the poor communication from airline employees.
In explaining the delays, Fly Jamaica Airways has said that its aircraft are currently undergoing scheduled and unscheduled maintenance checks. It noted that these checks are required at this time.
