Many Zoom passengers in Guyana will be affected by the airline’s announcement on Thursday of a suspension of operations because of bankruptcy proceedings.
However the fate of those passengers is still not known as the travel agency through which the airline operates, Constellation Tours, up to late yesterday afternoon could not say what contingency measures are being put in place to ensure that the passengers are not left stranded here.
Zoom provides a weekly charter service between Toronto and Guyana on Tuesday each week.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Constellation Tours manager Sharmilla Ramsammy said she was still awaiting word from Zoom on the status of things. She explained that Constellation only learnt about the airline’s decision via its website like everyone else.
She noted that there was not yet a definite plan on what will take place in terms of facilitating the inconvenienced passengers, neither could she say at the time exactly how many passengers were affected. Checks later yesterday afternoon with Ramsammy for an update on the situation did not yield any new information.
2,000 stranded
This newspaper has since learnt that in all Caribbean destinations which the airline serves, a total of 2,000 passengers are stranded.
In a statement on its website on Thursday, Zoom said it sincerely regretted having to advise its customers of the suspension of its operations with effect from 7 pm Thursday and that all its flights have been cancelled and aircraft grounded.
The statement quoted Hugh and John Boyle, the founders of Zoom, as saying that the suspension of operations is a result of the exceptionally difficult trading conditions which have affected all airlines over the last year.
They noted that they had worked hard over the last seven years to build a successful business but had incurred losses in the current year due to the unprecedented increase in the price of aviation fuel and the economic failure.
The men were also quoted as saying that they regretted the fact that they were forced to suspend all Zoom operations, noting that it was a tragic day for its passengers and more than 600 staff.
The men further stated that they had done everything they could to support the airline and left no stone unturned to secure a refinancing package that would have kept their aircraft flying.
However, the actions of the airline’s creditors meant that the airline cannot continue to fly.
“The increase in the price of oil had added around $50 million (US) to our annual operating costs and we could not recover that from passengers who had already booked flights.
The website www.zoomairlines.com also sets out ways in which the passengers originating in Canada and the UK could make claims.
A Reuters report said the airline struggled to secure a financial lifeline that would have kept it aloft but creditors forced it to file for creditor protection in Canada and Britain.
The Canadian High Commission here in a statement yesterday said it was notified that the airline had ceased operations and noted that GG Tours, the company that organized the charter, was in the process of working to find alternative arrangements for affected passengers and urged that those persons consult its website at www.ggtours.ca for updates.
Meanwhile, in a statement from its Port of Spain corporate communications office, Caribbean Airlines offered special fare discounts for Zoom passengers. It specified that all discounts are for one way travel between Toronto, Canada Port of Spain, Trinidad and Georgetown, Guyana.
The airline currently offers 11 daily non-stop flights between Toronto and Port of Spain with continuing service to Georgetown and effective September 8 it was expected to adjust its schedule to provide convenient ‘through flight’ connections between Toronto and Georgetown as a result of customer feedback.
Local manager Carlton DeFour said that once passenger visited the office here the airline would try its best to accommodate them but they must show evidence that they were booked with Zoom. He noted that the airline was full but would still make allowances to assist.
