FLIGHTS to New York from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport(CJIA), Timehri resumed yesterday, following two days of cancellations on Monday and Tuesday, caused by the dreaded snow storm experienced in New York and seriously affecting the John F. Kennedy International Airport over the last few days.
There was a mood of depression and tempers flared at the CJIA  earlier this week, as passengers booked for destinations in the United States,  arrived at the airport on Monday and Tuesday, only to be told that the flights had been cancelled until further notice. But few gave any indication of when the next flight out of Guyana to New York would be.
Whilst many passengers returned home in a rather sullen mood, others ‘stuck it out’  and stayed around the airport, hoping for the best, employing the good old adage that ‘the early bird catches the worm’.  
To some extent it worked, since they were undoubtedly among the first to get onto the first flight out yesterday, following the weekend blizzard.
Continuous efforts to reach the affected Airlines proved futile, and telephone lines kept ringing out non-stop, but this newspaper eventually got a comment from the management of the Laparkan- owned Delta Airlines, which confirmed that they did not fly on Monday and Tuesday, but had resumed flying yesterday morning.  The flight scheduled for the 09:00 hrs departure left around 10:35 hrs yesterday.
General Manager, Mr. Junior Horatio yesterday told this newspaper that the airline is making a concerted effort to get the stranded passengers out of Guyana as soon as possible, and flights to New York will continue for the remainder of the week and Sunday as well. 
“Flights will be leaving CJIA today, Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” he assured.
However, with a seating capacity of 184, on the air carriers, and a backlog about twice that number, passengers anticipate that getting onto flights and out of Guyana before the end of the first week of January will still pose a problem. Meanwhile, no indication has been given as to how passengers will be prioritized.
Irate passengers from all carriers concerned, who told of having suffered considerable inconvenience and in some cases financial embarrassment,  felt that the airlines owed it to them to, at least, make public announcements, informing them by press and electronic media, that flights had been cancelled.
Many told of  their commitments to return to their jobs after the holidays, others – to attend to business and/or family commitments, while others still, were hastening home to New York to take care of the health needs of loved ones who are sick.
“We heard of the blizzards over the weekend, but the airlines issued no advisory, confirming that flights were downed, or even indicating what we should do to ensure we get on the earliest possible flights.  And what about the people who have no access to the internet and television sets?  Certainly our airline services should do better than this,” one affected passenger commented.
Others still, not prepared for the shock they experienced on arriving at the CJIA on Sunday and Monday, said they had ‘shared out’ or in other ways disposed of cash, expecting that they would be home in a matter of hours.
It was hard luck for them, when the airlines indicated that they would not be taking any responsibility for return fares to their homes or hotels, nor for any expenses incurred here, as a result of the flight cancellations. 
Many passengers had travelled from as far as the Corentyne and Essequibo Coast and over the last few days, were pondering their next move.