(Trinidad Express) President of the Trinidad Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism Association Michelle Palmer-Keizer has noted with great concern the incident yesterday morning involving the Caribbean Airlines aircraft operating as Flight BW523, en route from Port of Spain to Georgetown, Guyana, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
In a statement yesterday, Palmer- Keizer said she was extremely grateful there were no fatalities.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and their families. The THRTA continues to have the highest confidence in Caribbean Airlines and we believe their safety standards have been evident in their unblemished record to date,” Palmer-Keizer said.
Subsequent to this incident, the association recognised that significant pressures will be put on the airlift component of our tourism product as the entire region’s airlift will now come under close scrutiny.
“As such, we call on the regional governments to work quickly with the International Civil Aviation Authority to reconfirm the safety of our regional airports and of our regional airline, Caribbean Airlines,” she said.
Palmer- Keizer said the THRTA stands ready to support Caribbean Airlines in any way possible during this difficult period.
President of the Hotel and Tourism Association, Tobago, Carol Ann Birchwood-James said yesterday her thoughts and prayers were with those who have been injured. “We thank God there have been no fatalities, and that says a lot about our very experience pilots. We continue to have confidence in Caribbean Airlines, both in the domestic flights and in the international flights, and we await the outcome of the investigation,” Birchwood-James stressed.