(Trinidad Guardian) Despite Saturday’s incident involving Caribbean Airlines (CAL) flight BW 523 to Guyana, airline travellers scheduled to fly on the airline pressed on with their plans and maintained their bookings at the Piarco International Airport, yesterday. While several passengers expressed concern at the Guyana incident and supported the current probe, they said they would continue flying on CAL. However, the loss of the CAL aircraft involved in Saturday’s miraculous landing incident, caused delays and long lines to build up at CAL counters at the airport. One Petit Valley woman, who said she had been standing in line “for too long,” said the CAL incident was something to be very concerned about and should be investigated “to the very limit.” (sic)
“But I still have to travel and I will be travelling as usual on CAL. I’ve been doing that for years. We hope the airline looks at its planes and the operations and this doesn’t happen again,” she added. A man from Arima and his family, off on vacation, said the Government must ensure the investigations are done quickly. He added, “And we want to know what caused it. It’s the first time something like this has happened to a local airline, so sure, we’re concerned.” “But we were booked long before so we’re travelling—we have to go. The problem is that it look like this thing affect all the flights so we’ve been delayed.” A female Barbadian traveller expressed anger at the delays and the situation. She said she had intended writing the airline.
CAL spokesman Laura Ashbjornsen who was at Piarco—after returning from surveying the incident in Guyana—indicated that the loss of the aircraft had possibly in turn, led to the back-up of flights. CAL chairman, George Nicholas III, when asked about the delays and passengers’ concerns said that CAL would continue to provide high grade state-of-the art planes. Nicholas said CAL has assisted the affected passengers from the Guyana “crash” with a US$500 allowance to fund any necessities. He said T&T’s consul in Guyana would also be assisting them and added that CAL is dealing with the passengers’ situations and providing a means of comfort as needed.
