The first of two repatriation flights scheduled for this week to bring Guyanese stranded in the United States home is expected today, Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority Egbert Field has said.
Guyanese since the close of borders on March 17 have been marooned in different parts of the world, including in the United States.
Field yesterday told Stabroek News that approximately 80 to 100 Guyanese are expected to be a part of the flight scheduled to arrive today from Miami.
He also stated that arrangements are in place for a second flight on Wednesday to transport Guyanese from New York.
These flights, the GCAA head explained, are being facilitated by Eastern Airlines while other arrangements are being made for Caribbean Airlines to bring Guyanese home from Trinidad and Barbados.
He said that that the GCAA was unable to charter a flight over the weekend as it did not receive an approved list of names for passengers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He noted that the review and verification of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing for COVID-19 is tedious and takes some time, resulting in the process being slowed down.
Field also noted that some of the passengers had gotten the wrong tests, resulting in non-approvals and too few passengers to book a flight.
Once there is a list of approved names, Field said, the aviation authority goes ahead and books the flight with an airline.
Touching on repatriation flights for Guyanese stranded in Barbados and Trinidad, he explained that the GCAA has made contact with the Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines and a list of approved names is being put together.
Caribbean Airlines said in a statement on Sunday that it remains committed to supporting repatriation efforts for the citizens of Guyana and looks forward to the completion of the processes and the provision of the necessary approvals from the GCAA.
It noted that it supplied the Government of Guyana and the GCAA with a proposed schedule of repatriation flights and received approval to operate a service between Trinidad, Barbados and Guyana on June 11, with the Guyana authorities committing to provide a listing of pre-approved Guyanese nationals to the airline.
Subsequently, on June 9, the GCAA advised that the necessary processes were not yet completed by the Guyanese authorities and it was unable to provide the listing of nationals for repatriation to Caribbean Airlines that would facilitate the advertising of the flight and booking of passengers.
The National COVID-19 Task Force has so far approved the controlled re-entry of approximately 300 Guyanese through the nation’s international airports providing they follow a series of guidelines, including securing a negative COVID-19 test using PCR testing and a mandatory seven-day quarantine. The first batch of stranded Guyanese to be repatriated arrived on June 6, on a flight from Miami, with 109 passengers.
Outgoing flights
Meanwhile, the Canadian High Commission of Guyana and Suriname on its social media page announced that Eastern Airlines has received approval to offer two flights out of Guyana.
The flights will take place today from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) to JFK International Airport, New York, departing at 2.30 pm, and on Wednesday from CJIA to Miami International Airport, Miami, departing at 4.15 pm.
The flights are open only to U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, and third country nationals with a valid visa or ESTA for transit.
The High Commission encouraged its citizens who fulfill the US entry requirements and wishing to return to Canada to book either of the flights and arrange onward travel to Canada.
