SOME three days after the Fly Jamaica Toronto-bound flight skidded off the runway during an emergency landing in Guyana, the airline has reported that most passengers have been reunited with their luggage save for four outstanding bags.

The incident which took place Friday last at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) had left some passengers injured, others shaken and a few others in a quest for their luggage and other items misplaced during the evacuation.
On Sunday, Director of Fly Jamaica Roxanne Reece told the Guyana Chronicle that the airline has been in constant contact with passengers in person and by e-mail since the incident.
In addition, she stated: “Our Reservation and Call Centres are open 24 hours and our customer- care team is attempting to deal expeditiously with all queries. We are working with the Guyana Police Force to recover any missing passengers’ assets.”
On Sunday Davanan Sukhram, a passenger who received injuries during the landing and evacuation confirmed to this newspaper that he had received his luggage, but still awaits his duty-free bag and a pouch with jewellery.

“They said they haven’t located it yet, but they’re trying to locate it,” Sukhram relayed, adding that he was discharged from the hospital yesterday.

Meanwhile, Reece said that arrangements are still being made for passengers in Guyana to be placed on outgoing flights as soon as possible.
“Our team will be contacting the passengers over the coming days regarding plans for their travel,” she said.

She stated, too, that is no secret that Fly Jamaica’s 767 is on a “scheduled maintenance ‘C’ check.”

A ‘C’ Check is performed on planes approximately every 20–24 months per a specific amount of actual flight hours (FH), or as defined by the manufacturer.

It is an extensive maintenance check and requires a large majority of the components of the aircraft to be inspected, putting the aircraft out of service until completed.
Regarding compensation for the injured or inconvenienced passengers, Reece stated: “An international air carrier’s liability to compensate is governed by the Montreal Convention 1999 and the quantum depends on the circumstances of each case.”

She added that on the airline’s part, since the incident passengers have been accommodated in hotels, many local passengers returned home while some chose to stay at the airport to collect their bags.

“It was not our intention that any passenger not be accommodated. We apologise for any such incident,” she said.

She further commended the efforts of several parties to render assistance during the challenging period: “Fly Jamaica, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport; the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force all have accident protocols in force in the event of an accident, and responded accordingly.”

Meanwhile, a media release on Sunday from the airline mentioned that while it is still too early to comment on the cause of the accident, Fly Jamaica commends the patience and bravery of the involved passengers.

“Following Friday’s accident at Georgetown, Fly Jamaica wishes to acknowledge the courage of all occupants aboard flight OJ256, in particular those who suffered injuries during the evacuation…we are cooperating fully with the investigative authorities in their endeavours to find all the answers. “Meanwhile, our immediate focus is on the safe repatriation of all of our passengers,” the document stated.

Additional words of appreciation were given out to the airline’s loyal customers, the Government of Guyana, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA); Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson; Junior Minister of Public Infrastructure Annette Ferguson and the New Timehri Handling Services.