The National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) is currently organising repatriation flights from Cuba for Guyanese who are seeking to return home, Chairman of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority’s (GCAA) Board of Directors, Lt Col. (Ret’d) Larry London disclosed yesterday.
London, while speaking at a virtual press conference hosted by the NCTF secretariat yesterday, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently in talks with officials of the Cuban government to facilitate the flights.
He noted that they are currently making the arrangements to put protocols in place to have everyone in one location before moving forward with the flight.
“The Ambassador [Abdool Halim Majeed] there has to put in place a protocol to ensure that the students can be released from whatever facility they’re in to be brought to the airport. So Ambassador is working to be sure that those things are put in place. And we can bring those people home very quickly,” London explained.
Guyanese students and boxers are currently stranded in Cuba. The students have for the past several months been calling on the government to organise a special flight for them to return home during the pandemic. The boxers were training in the Spanish-speaking country and were unable to return home after its borders closed abruptly.
London informed that approval has been given to Caribbean Airlines to conduct a Cuban repatriation flight from Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana to Cuba.
Caribbean Airlines will also be used to transport 111 Guyanese students back home during the second week of this month.
He also stated that on July 9, the first batch of Guyanese will be brought home from Toronto, Canada, via WestJet Airlines. That airline will also operate a repatriation flight out of Guyana.
The Guyana Counsel General, Anyin Choo, in Toronto on July 2, 2020 submitted a list showing that 134 Guyanese are willing to come on that flight, London said.
All Guyanese on that flight will be required to complete the necessary PCR test and be approved by the Ministry of Public Health before entry into Guyana.
Additionally, the GCAA Chairman said that there will be two other repatriation flights from New York City and Miami, Florida on July 14 and 15 via Eastern Airlines.
To date approximately 1,300 Guyanese who were stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 epidemic have been allowed to return home.
Meanwhile, London advised persons wishing to travel to desist from purchasing tickets from airlines as the aviation body has not granted any approval to airlines to operate commercial flights.
He suggested that persons who had purchased tickets from American Airlines or Jet Blue to travel during this month should request a refund.
“If you are invited to buy tickets on any carrier I want you to know that they are not coming because they have not been approved to come,” London advised. He noted that there is no clear indicator as to when the borders will reopen as the COVID-19 pandemic is still to be neutralised.
Guyanese returning home must produce a negative COVID-19 test using PCR testing and undergo a mandatory seven-day quarantine upon arrival.
The GCAA last Wednesday said in a press release that after consultation with the Ministry of Public Health, it had adjusted its Four Phase Reopening Plan for international airports. It said that this decision was made after careful examination of the current COVID-19 situation in Guyana and other international ports where flights to Guyana originate. In recent days, Guyana has seen steep increases in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Director General, Lt Col Egbert Field, said in the release that the GCAA and the National COVID-19 Task Force consider the health of Guyanese and the nation as “top priority”, thus, it was imperative to vary the Four Phase Reopening Plan.
Phase One which would have ended on June 30, 2020 is now extended to July 31, 2020 and Phase Two will now begin on August 1, 2020. The proposed dates in the GCAA Four Phase Reopening Plan will continue to be dictated by the Covid-19 situation, the release added.
Under Phase One, the following flights will continue to be permitted: limited repatriation flights, outgoing flights, cargo flights, medevac flights, technical stops, and special authorised flights.
