Passengers stranded in Tobago after their Caribbean Airlines flights were cancelled due to bad weather and flooding over the past 48 hours are complaining about having to fork out their own money to pay for a longer stay on the island. The alternative, they say, is to sleep at the airport.
Betty-Ann Joseph, a resident of Chaguanas, said after CAL cancelled flights yesterday they had to cough up cash to stay at a hotel with no hopes of being reimbursed. Thomas said when she and her family arrived at the ANR Robinson Airport this morning they were put on a standby list at 5 am yesterday there were cancellations of flights from Tobago. She said CAL staff were also impolite and gave no information as to what was taking place. Other passengers said they were disgusted at having to wait so long for information.
Arima resident Sandra Sambrano arrived after 8 am in Tobago. Sambrano said she travelled with a church group and was happy to reach on the island. She said they were lucky on their trip in Trinidad because from Arima to the Piarco Airport there was no flooding on the road.
Sandra Sambrano, left, was just happy to arrive in Tobago from Trinidad, noting they did not encounter any flood waters on their journey to the Piarco International Airport.
Shastri Boodan
The T&T Spirit sailed around 9.26 am today with a load of passengers and vehicles to Trinidad. On its remaining trips for today, it was expected to take all the passengers who were due to sail on the Galleons Passage after that vessel’s sailings were cancelled due to technical issues.
The T&T Spirit docked at the Port of Scarborough earlier today. It was expected to take up the extra load of passengers from the Galleons Passage after the vessel's trips for today were cancelled due to technical issues.
Shastri Boodan
Affected passengers are also angry about the added money they will have to pay for parking at the Piarco International Airport over the weekend when they eventually return to Trinidad. They noted that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley labelled the flooding a national disaster and this should be given some consideration since they were not responsible for the cancellations of their flights.
Asked to comment on the airport parking fee, Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan advised Guardian Media to contact the Airports Authority of T&T on the matter.
Addressing the issue when contacted, AATT manager of corporate communications Zola Joseph said they were sympathetic to persons impacted by the adverse weather conditions and are willing to assist where necessary. In a subsequent release, she advised that passengers who may need consideration in relation to parking fees to speak with the customer service representatives at the information booth in the atrium at the Piarco International Airport.