A large number of Guyanese passengers set to travel to and from New York will once again face cancellations as airlines continue to heed warnings of a massive snow storm.
Caribbean Airlines (CAL) on Monday issued an advisory highlighting the cancellation of all flights between New York and other identified destinations between the periods Monday 14 to Thursday 16.
The Trinidad –based airline which controls a major share on the NY-GUY route had announced the cancellation of at least five flights heading in and out of destinations such as Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
ON Tuesday, Caribbean Airlines announced more cancellations totaling some 10 flights; five on Monday and another five today. Tuesday’s flights included those from Trinidad to New York, Guyana to New York, Kingston to New York among others. CAL’s cancellations today include flights out of New York to Kingston, Guyana and Trinidad, among others.
CAL noted that passengers booked and ticketed to travel on mentioned dates will be allowed to change their reservations without being subjected to a penalty, but “subject to special conditions.” CAL said that their cancellations, “are due to adverse weather in the New York area.
The airline warned that they would not be responsible for arrangements to and from alternate airports, hotel or overnight expenses incurred. CAL said that passengers with unused tickets who wish not to travel during the cancellation period may have their tickets placed on hold for future travel on Caribbean Airlines up to one year from the original date of issue. “Any difference, including change penalty between the original ticket and the new ticket must be collected.”
America-based carrier, Dynamic Airways was also forced to make cancellations since no flights were available to New York Yesterday. According to airline representatives, Dynamic, “cancelled all flights today (Tuesday) as a result of the snow storm.” This newspaper was told that service is,however, expected to resume today (Wednesday) but will depend on whether the airline gives the go ahead.
Another major player on the Guyana/ New York route,Fly Jamaica, was however ecstatic to announce that the company experienced no cancellations. While the “serious” snow storm was expected to last for three days, the airline said that none of their flights fell within the timeframe that would pose a threat to their operation. “We just managed to get around the storm,” the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Roxanne Reece explained.
Media reports out of the US stated that the late-winter storm brought less snow than originally forecasted in some parts of the state, but officials were still urging caution. The original forecast had expected the storm to dump a foot or more of snow on the city area, while wind gust was expected to reach about 55 mph. The new forecast now predicts four to eight inches of snow.
The city is said to be returning to some amount of normalcy with public schools expected to re-open today. A State of Emergency is however still in effect in New York, but now includes New Jersey and Connecticut. It was stated that nearly 700 salt spreaders and 1,600 snow plows were deployed across the city’s five boroughs.