THE Accounts Department compound of the Ministry of Public Works, in Kingston, Georgetown, was crowded yesterday as hundreds of persons went there to collect their partial refunds for tickets purchased from the now belly-up low cost airliner EZjet. However, despite the efforts by the government to ensure that the payment was done as fast, when compared to that accomplished by REDjet, many of the persons seeking repayment yesterday were not pleased with the process and systems in place to guarantee the payout.
The disgruntled passengers were not happy with the 64 percent of the total they paid for their tickets to the various destinations.
Most of them were not fully aware nor understood why they were only receiving some of what they were charged or none at all, although Transport Minister Robeson Benn had made clear, more than one month ago, that the bond lodged by the airline in keeping with the local aviation regulation was not sufficient to cover all the expenses left behind by the collapsed airline.
The stipulation is that airlines which enter the local aviation sector must deposit a lump sum of money which is held by the government for safekeeping should the carrier encounter unfortunate circumstances or run into financial constraints as was the case with both EZjet and REDjet, both of which had operated in Guyana.

SEVERAL EXPENSES
Presently, the bond deposited by EZjet airlines has to cover several expenses, including debt to the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), as well as refunding those who had bought tickets but were not able to travel or left with no alternative to get back to where they started out.
Among the dissatisfied persons yesterday was a woman who declared there is no justification for them having to accept less than what they paid the airline.
She told the Guyana Chronicle that she was charged $170,000 to go to Canada with the airline but was never able to travel on EZjet. However, her husband bought a ticket from another airline.
While she was out the country, the ministry was moving ahead with the refunding procedure and it had ended. However, the woman is now back in Guyana and, although she was not able to apply for it, she turned up yesterday morning, only to be informed that she needed to make an application.
She had her documentation and the ticket she purchased but could not be accommodated.
An elderly woman lashed out, declaring that she ought not to have had to go through such a long arrangement to get back what rightly belongs to her.
Yet another woman expressed the view that Guyanese people seem to like confusion, referring to the ministry making them line up for their cheques.
One other elderly woman, who took a collapsible chair with her, said she was expecting the extended wait and not prepared to stand for hours but she, really, needs the money at this time.
There was one more woman who bothered about the sum being refunded, especially with the cost of living that makes things hard sometimes.
The consensus was that the Guyana Government must review the amount of the bond airlines are asked to deposit when they express interest in operating out of Guyana.