CARIBBEAN Airlines will, as of this weekend, be operating flights for Jamaicans stranded in Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, The Bahamas, and Antigua and Barbuda, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith has announced.
Her disclosure, which was made on Twitter yesterday, came just as two Jamaicans were nearing their wits' end after being stranded in Antigua and The Bahamas since Jamaica closed its borders to incoming passenger traffic on March 24 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The country's air and sea ports were on June 1 again opened to Jamaicans overseas, among them an estimated 900 stranded across the Caribbean region — a figure which was confirmed by Prime Minister Andrew Holness recently.
According to Johnson Smith, the dates, times, fares, and other details for the flights will be advised as soon as they are confirmed, but she said the aim is for the repatriation flights to start this weekend.
“The flights will be open to all nationals, but you will need to be approved on #jamcovid19. Priority will be placed on urgent cases stranded as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, [including] students already registered” with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, she tweeted.
The minister also advised that if Jamaicans stranded in the named Caribbean countries had not yet registered on jamcovid19 or answered the home quarantine assessment questions, or any other information requested, they should do so, as she committed to providing further details.
The two Jamaicans had earlier told the Jamaica Observer that they were unable to return home because regional carrier Caribbean Airlines had been unable to fly to some territories because of border restrictions.
0 Comment