Fly Jamaica Airways yesterday extended apologies to all passengers affected by its irregular operations beginning August 3, 2017.
In a statement, the airline said that while these delays were regrettable Fly Jamaica remains committed to making safety its first priority. In this light, Fly Jamaica said it grounded its Boeing 767 on Thursday, August 3rd prior to departure from Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston. After returning to the gate, it said that passengers were fed onboard before being transferred to the airline’s Boeing 757 aircraft.
It added that Thursday’s circumstances were compounded by external factors at the ports Fly Jamaica Airways operates to and from.
An ongoing strike by ground staff of Swissport Canada Handling Inc— Fly Jamaica Airways’ contracted handling company at Pearson International Airport in Toronto— continues to adversely impact the operations of all airlines they service and has resulted in ramp congestion and significant delays in the offloading of baggage and deplaning of passengers, the airline said.
At the JFK International Airport in New York, extended baggage screenings and checks being conducted by the US Customs & Border Protection on all flights out from Jamaica and Guyana, have added several hours to the turnaround times, causing additional delays.
Disruptions to the airline’s service to and from Toronto are expected to continue to some degree as long as Swissport Canada Handling Inc. continues to strike at Pearson International, the airline added.
It stated that Fly Jamaica Airways’ reservations staff is working around the clock to ensure all passengers are contacted via telephone with revised flight information.
Updated flight schedule information could be found at www.fly-jamaica.com.
Fly Jamaica Airways expects to be back on schedule by Thursday August 10, 2017, the release added.
