IN a February 16, 2023 article headlined, ‘Guyana slams American Airlines over poor treatment of CARICOM prime ministers’, the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) reported that Guyana had “criticised American Airlines for continuing to pay scant regard to its requests after two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) prime ministers became the latest high-level officials to fall victim to the airline’s policy”.

The ministry had said in a statement that day that the airline had “refused to allow Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley and his St. Vincent and the Grenadines colleague, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves to check in through the VIP Lounge at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA)”.

Noting that it was “not taking any blame for the undignified treatment of the visiting Caribbean leaders,” the ministry said that “based on previous similar experience with American Airlines, the carrier had been asked formally to accord the necessary treatment to the two leaders, but to no avail.”

The ministry pointed out that “all government protocols were in place to facilitate the two leaders’ departure [but] despite American Airlines having been written to prior to the arrival of the prime ministers in Guyana, for them to be accorded the courtesies of check in on departure from the VIP Lounge, the airline refused to acquiesce to the ministry’s request, and insisted that the prime ministers leave the lounge to present themselves to the check-in counter.”

It indicated that the “Guyana government intends to formally communicate its displeasure of this most recent action by the airline that has caused embarrassment not only nationally, but also to our regional friends.”

The ministry said it “sincerely regretted the inconvenience” caused to the two visiting prime ministers, who were travelling to Miami, en route to The Bahamas for the 44th Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit in Nassau.

It also recalled that the Guyana government “had previously protested against this position taken by American Airlines against its own high and senior government officials, but without success.”

The statement concluded by accusing the airline of “continuing to pay scant regard to the Government’s requests for entitlements to the positions held, to be respected.”

American Airlines responded four days later, on February 20, by way of a letter of apology from Robert A. Wirick, its Managing Director for International Government Affairs.

The letter states: “On behalf of American Airlines, please accept my sincerest apology for not proactively approving the request for expedited treatment, and the inconvenience caused during your departure from Guyana’s Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

“We sincerely regret that we fell short of your expectations while travelling from Guyana to Miami to connect on a flight to The Bahamas for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Summit.
American Airlines greatly treasures the relationship with you and the citizens of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We will strive to ensure that all of your future travels on our airline are pleasant and exceed your expectations.

“American Airlines prides itself on delivering a high level of respect and service that our customers deserve. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.”
Diplomatic niceties aside, this response will have been heard by many as not sounding at all regretful, only saying “sorry”, and promising to make Dr. Gonsalves’ future trips on AA more enjoyable, as if the complaint was about the flight, and not the disrespectful diplomatic faux pas that preceded it.

The letter sounds more like a routine formality than a sincere and heartfelt expression of regret; more like the uniform letter airlines send to passengers with luggage problems than an acknowledgement of a sky-high violation of the protocols and conventions governing the treatment of government leaders by airlines.

Fact is, the Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is as VIP as any Caribbean leader can get: The longest-serving CARICOM Head of Government and longest-serving Prime Minister of his multi-island nation, and President of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC); and he held all these very important positions when he was denied the respect due to each and all of them on February 16.

It’s unthinkable that any American or European Head of Government or State Governor on either side of the Atlantic would be required by American Airlines to leave a diplomatic lounge (at any international airport) and show-up personally to check-in at a counter. But the unthinkable happened that unfortunate day, right here in Guyana.

It doesn’t matter that “The Comrade” in Prime Minister Gonsalves has said he (personally) has no problem showing up at any airline counter to check-in for a flight. What really matters is that two CARICOM leaders were denied the respect due to their high offices, in what seems a pattern that was played out in Guyana before.

American Airlines has been serving the Caribbean throughout its existence, and Guyanese and Caribbean citizens at home and in the diaspora have always gingerly buttered the popular US airline’s bread, flying between homes and family in the region and the US.

The airline would, therefore, certainly do well to upgrade and equalise its treatment of Caribbean people, and their leaders, to what it accords American citizens and leaders from everywhere elsewhere.

But while the region waits with high hopes that American Airlines will adjust, sooner than later, the incident again drives home the need for the region’s leaders to hasten the pace of addressing the long outstanding need for a regional Caribbean airline that will provide the services the region continues outsourcing to extra-regional airlines, at a time when flying has become even more unaffordable for average Caribbean citizens.

At their 2022 Summit in Suriname, CARICOM leaders committed to responding collectively to the regional air transport crisis created by LIAT’s demise. They must do all they can, in 2023, starting with clear proposals for consideration at their next Heads of Government Summit in the first week of July.