BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – “We want justice, we want justice. LIAT is not working…it is hurting!”
These were the words chanted last night (July 13) at the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw International Airport in St. Kitts by 40 disappointed pupils of the Seventh Day Adventist Primary School (SDAPS), their despondent teachers and many angry parents.
According to the Principal of the SDAPS, Yvette Blanchette, 40 pupils and three teachers [including her] were scheduled to depart St. Kitts for St. Maarten at 8:15 p.m. last night, but the flight was cancelled and no one could have provided reliable information on the next possible flight.
‘We arrived at the airport since 6:15 this afternoon to check in. We paid our departure tax and were awaiting the flight scheduled for 8:15 p.m. However, after that time had passed and no aircraft had arrived, I sought to enquire what had caused the delay and was told by the Supervisor, Mr. Philip, that the flight had been rescheduled for 10:30 p.m.
“Again we waited but no aircraft came. I approached Mr. Philip, who informed me that the flight was cancelled and we may have to travel tomorrow. Tomorrow will be very inconvenient for the whole group…they couldn’t tell me when and what flight we will be going on,” Blanchette said.
She explained that many of the children were residing in the rural area and their working parents would have had to seek permission from their bosses to take them to the airport on the following day. “But they will be disadvantaged, because no one can tell us when we will be leaving for St. Maarten,” she added.
The Principal said that LIAT deals are unreasonable and even though it was told to the authorities that the children were hungry, no one bothered or had shown any interest in her complaint.
She also claimed that when the Supervisor had contacted the Country Manager, Avernice Thompson-Jeffers, concerning cancellation of the flight, “She said send them home!”
“How can you treat customers in such manner, especially children, when the fault lies with your airline? These children’s last meal was at their parents’ home and they would have had their final meal for the night when we arrive in St. Maarten. But it is now after 11 o’clock, we don’t know when we are leaving and nobody cares,” Blanchette vehemently expressed.
She however stated that the Supervisor promised to arrange transportation to take all the intended passengers to their respective homes.
When asked by SKNVibes for an explanation to the situation and what provisions were made for the passengers, the Supervisor said, “I cannot make any decision. The flight was cancelled and if you want any comment you have to speak to Avernice Thompson, the Country Manager, or Elroy Lewis, the General Manager for LIAT. I have already spoken to the Principal.”
One of the angry parents, Jacinth Williams-Fraser of Cayon, said she was very depressed over the situation.
“My daughter is among the passengers. I had to work very hard for the money paid for her trip to St. Maarten. Not only did I have to go into my savings, but I also had to break my piggy bank this evening and I brought a lot of coins up here just to pay the departure tax for my daughter to go and enjoy herself in St. Maarten. She did excellent in her Test of Standards and this is one of the ways in complimenting her. I am very disappointed in the airline, they are not giving us any answers here and we need justice,” Williams-Fraser said.
According to Principal Blanchette, the children had performed excellently at the Test of Standards and the trip to St. Maarten was arranged as a compensatory gesture. She also stated that the group trip was a planned event which started in 2006, and arrangements had been made for them to be accommodated at one of the community centres in St. Maarten, from where they would have been daily exposed to educational tours during their one-week stay on the island.
“Like the children and their parents, I’m very disappointed and this situation had adversely disrupted our programme,” she added.
This morning, SKNVibes contacted the Country Manager, who categorically stated that she was not at liberty to speak to the media. She however claimed that the group would have been travelling today, but could not say at what time. She also informed that any explanation concerning the flight’s cancellation had to be obtained from the Antigua-based Public Relations Officer or Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
This media house contacted a clerk at the Headquarters in Antigua and was told that neither the CEO nor the Communications Manager, Desmond Brown, was available until tomorrow (July 15). The clerk also declared that the Headquarters was unaware of what transpired and had promised to get back to SKNVibes after consulting with the Country Manager in St. Kitts.
The clerk kept her word. Sometime after 2:00 p.m. she called this media house and said that the Country Manager should be contacted for further information.
SKNVibes tried to contact the Country Manager on her cellular phone on numerous occasions but was unsuccessful. Another attempt was made by calling the general office at the RLB International Airport, but when the call was transferred to her office there was no response.
However, when the question of the group’s departure was asked of the female who responded to the call at the main office, she said that she could not positively say if the pupils and teachers were among the passengers, but everyone destined for St. Maarten for today had departed.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF'S NOTE: SKNVibes apologises for the unintentional error in the placement of the Country Manager's surname, which should have read "Avernice Jeffers-Thompson" instead of "Avernice Thompson-Jeffers".
