BREAKING NEWS: Caribbean Airlines agreement with CJIAC in Limbo

By Leroy Smith

The management of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation (CJIAC) has given Trinidad based carrier, Caribbean Airlines (CAL) 21 days to honour an agreement made with the airport or have its flights to the CJIA terminated.

It was noted that the airline agreed at a previous meeting that it would allow passengers travelling from the CJIA to enter their final destinations with items that they would have purchased at the Duty Free Shop at the Timehri Airport.

However, the CJIAC says it was forced to take the drastic step after Caribbean Airlines failed to honor the agreement, noting that passengers travelling out of Guyana have expressed concerns of not being allowed to take their duty free purchases into other countries to which Caribbean Airlines fly.

In a document seen by the News Room, the management of the CJIA stated that“CAL failed, refused and/or neglected to comply with the said notice on 16^th June, 2016 which said default is continuing.”

“Accordingly, take notice unless CAL remedies its aforesaid default and comply with the said notice of June 15, 2015 within 21 Days of this notice to remedy default, CJIAC will be at liberty to proceed to cancel the air carrier agreement under article 9.3 thereof” the document addressed to Mr. Roy Ferguson, Area Manager-South America Caribbean Airlines, was quoted as saying.

The notice which was sent to the airline sought to introduce a procedure where passengers would receive their duty free items which would have been placed in their checked luggage, under the CAL/CJIA security supervision.

The document also stated that wide consultations were held with local law enforcement, duty free concessionaires, CAL personnel and representatives from the TTCAA (Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority) prior to the request for compliance, preceding a notice which was issued to CAL on June 15, 2015.