A total of 141 Guyanese who were stuck in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados due to the COVID-19 measures returned home on Friday on a Caribbean Airlines (CAL) flight which landed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at 12:30h.
The nationals were scheduled to return on June 11 but the flight was cancelled as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs failed to submit the list of passengers to the airlines 48 hours before the flight was scheduled to depart.
Guyanese stranded in Trinidad previously complained that they already paid G$50,000 to do their COVID-19 test as they need a negative result 48-hours before arrival to be granted entry and they were worried that they would have to redo the test.
However, Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Egbert Field told the News Room that the Ministry of Public Health found it adequate that they did not have to take the test again.
Another flight is due to arrive at about 16:00h Friday with about 186 Guyanese workers from the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line off the coast of Barbados.
One of the passengers who arrived on Friday said she has been stuck in Trinidad for over three months and is now relieved to be home.
“It was terrible and the process was very aggravating it came to the point where I wanted to give up, but I am here and I am very happy to be home,” the passenger said.
Before boarding a flight, all passengers are required submit a repatriation form to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a negative COVID-19 test 48 hours before they travel.
All the passengers are also subjected to a mandatory strict 7-day home quarantine once they arrive in Guyana.
Guyana closed all ports of entry on March 17 to curb the spread of COVID-19. The country’s two international airports are scheduled to reopen on July 01 in a phased manner.
A total of 353 persons were repatriated from Miami and New York in the United States in the last couple of weeks.
Mr Field said the next repatriation flight out of the United States is expected sometime next week.
