Taxi drivers at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri are looking forward to the resumption of scheduled flights after being out of work for over six months.
With the closure of the airport and the restriction of flights as part of the measures taken to push back against the COVID-19 pandemic, taxi drivers at CJIA were forced to remain out of operation during the period.
Hafeez Bacchus, a taxi driver, said he welcomed the reopening.
Bacchus told this newspaper that things were slow, but he will continue to show up for work because he understands that the change is temporary.
He noted that business was “slow” since most of the incoming passengers were being picked up by family members.
Bacchus who has been operating for 30 years now, disclosed that he has not had a single passenger since the reopening of the airport. He explained that the amount of hours worked daily was dependent on the number of aircraft arrivals.
The taxi driver described the pandemic season as “pressure”. However, he was confident the team would continue to stick together during these difficulty times and press on until things are back to some normalcy.
Lennox Mclean, a CJIA driver who also holds a supervisory position, stated that since the beginning of the pandemic, the drivers have been directly affected especially since this job was the only source of income for most of them.
The man who has been in the system for 25 years, explained that many of the passengers were not taking the risk of using a taxi, and would rather have their relatives come to pick them up.
With the coronavirus cases on the increase, he noted that passengers preferred to have someone they were familiar with so as to reduce the risk of contracting the virus.
He opined that the state should provide assistance to help ease the financial burden they are currently facing after being severely impacted by the closure of the airport and the pandemic protocols.
Mervin Wilson, who had also been out of work since flights were restricted, told Stabroek News he has been a part of the union for four years.
Wilson said that during the period he was out of work and at home, he took the opportunity to focus on his gardening and house maintenance.
He went on to explain that while flights were beginning to operate again, business presently was extremely slow.
He also noted that a majority of the passengers coming in were being picked up by relatives or a trusted individual, rather than using the taxi service provided.
A seemingly new trend
Wazeed Manjoor, another driver who spoke to this newspaper, said he has been operating as a taxi driver for 40 years.
Manjoor said that while being out of work for over 6 months, he tried his best to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines and avoided contact with persons.
However, he was grateful to be able to return to work and looked forward to having Caribbean Airlines resuming its regular schedule, adding, “They have all the connections.”
Manjoor added that most of their fares come out of Trinidad and other Caribbean countries.
Meanwhile, Stabroek News observed that most of the arriving passengers were being picked up by private vehicles.
In addition, most of the food stalls located nearby remained closed.
