Greenidge queries `discriminatory’ treatment of Guyanese at Piarco

The treatment of Guyanese passengers at Piarco by Caribbean Airlines (CAL) is one of a series of questions that APNU MP Carl Greenidge wants the government to answer in relation to the flagship agreement which was clinched with the regional carrier in January, 2013.
On February 10th , 2014, Greenidge tendered questions to parliament including one asking about the “direct financial recompense and non-financial benefits, if any” that the Government of Guyana received for the grant of route rights or national carrier status to CAL. He also asked how this compared with what prevailed prior to January 1, 2013. The questions are down for answer on March 6th, 2014.
Greenidge related in his question that Guyanese who had arrived in Trinidad on a January 15th, 2014 CAL flight on their way to Guyana were treated poorly.
“After all the other passengers had disembarked, Georgetown bound passengers were told to leave the plane and to wait at the top of the stairs in the terminal. Once in the terminal they were immediately shepherded into the waiting area room, movement in which was very restricted for over an hour”, Greenidge related.
There have been numerous complaints over the years at the manner in which Guyanese transiting Piarco are treated.
In light of the flagship agreement from 2013, Greenidge asked whether the negotiations “involved any requirement by the Government of Guyana and a matching commitment from the CAL management to eliminate discriminatory treatment imposed on Guyana bound and departing passengers on this route”.
If there were such negotiations, Greenidge wants to know what quality and range of services, including for transfer and checking-in of transit passengers at Piarco, the government here has required CAL to fulfil and over what period.
Greenidge also wants to know whether the government has in place any mechanism for monitoring the quality of service extended to passengers since January, 2013 and if so what were the findings for the last review period.
The in-transit woes of Guyanese in Trinidad and the cost of CAL’s flights between Timehri and Piarco have led to threats by officials here that the flagship agreement with the carrier could be terminated.