-after botched holiday travel plans

Upset parents of over 200 students studying in Cuba erupted in anger yesterday while some were reduced to tears after learning that flight arrangements for their children were not properly made and their children may not make it home for the holidays.

The flight arrangements were made by Jim Bacchus Travel Service, which came in for heavy criticism from the parents at a meeting of the Guyana-Cuba Friendship Society at the Queen’s College Auditorium yesterday. The meeting was held to apprise the parents of the situation.

Stabroek News was unable to get a comment from the travel agency yesterday. When contacted, a clerk at the travel service’s office told this newspaper that the person in charge had just left the building and would not be returning. She said that there was no other person, who could give a comment.

Zaida Joaquin, who chaired the meeting informed the parents that though all assurances had been given by the travel service, that the arrangements were in place, it was only a couple of days ago that they learnt that this was not the case.
The arrangements covered 212 students, who were returning home for the first time in two years. The flight would have been from Havana to Jamaica via Air Jamaica thence to Barbados and onto Georgetown. But Joaquin said that instead of all the students journeying to Barbados on one flight, as had been the understanding, it was discovered that arrangements were made for them to travel in five batches. And no arrangements had been made to get them from Barbados to Georgetown. The parents had paid $158,000 for each student.

“Jim Bacchus did not do a very good job of arranging flights for the students”, she stated adding that they had been given all assurances that all the arrangements were in place. She said that on Thursday they found out that while the flights were booked from Havana to Barbados, there was no onward connection to Guyana.

She said that the society had attempted to make alternative arrangements but was informed by the airlines that from Monday all the flights into Guyana were fully booked. The students were to have left Havana on Monday morning arriving here in the afternoon. She related that the airlines said that it would be several more weeks until seats are available.

She informed that the society’s president, Samuel Abdool was in Trinidad trying to make alternative arrangements. She said previously the society had used the travel service to make arrangements and they had run into difficulties but those were resolved.
She was questioned about this by upset parents, who asked why it was that the society still placed their faith in the service when they had trouble with them before. Joaquin said that the travel service was willing to refund the money and at this the parents erupted. Some said that the service should have had a representative in Cuba while another said that the travel agency should charter a flight. “It is their responsibility, we already paid our money”, one visibly upset man said.

Joaquin stated that they had been in contact with Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon. Another executive of the society said that high-ranking representatives of the travel service were invited to attend the meeting but no one came.

The parents were informed that “all was not lost” as Abdool was trying to make alternative arrangements. Joaquin said that an email was sent to the dean of the college advising of the situation and that the students should not travel. A number of mothers erupted in tears as the meeting went on and others vented their feelings. (Gaulbert Sutherland)