Detained Bwee pilots flying again

THE TWO BWIA pilots who were detained last December by US officials because their names appeared on a “no fly list” are now fully cleared and have resumed their jobs. The pilots, Captain Anthony Wight and First Officer Rawle Joseph resumed flying duties last week following the re-issue of US visas by the US government. Newsday was told by Communications officer for the Trinidad and Tobago Airline Pilots Association (TALPA), Peter Popplewell, that following the process where the pilots’ names were taken off the list by the US State Department in January, the process of re-issuing them US visas took a lengthy period and the visas were only issued two weeks ago. As such, the pilots were only able to be fully reinstated with the national airline and resumed flying last week.

A statement from TALPA’s chairman Captain Rory Lewes expressed his happiness that the matter had been brought to an end. “We know that every country has a right to protect its borders, but what our colleagues went through was a most traumatic experience, not only for themselves, but their families and for all of us at TALPA,” said Lewes. He added, “It is of little comfort, but all’s well that ends well. The fact that they have now been completely cleared supports our view all along that their detention was the result of a mistake, and totally undeserved.” Captain Wight, who was piloting BW 434 from Port-of-Spain was “arbitrarily detained” at the Miami International Airport on Christmas Eve by FBI agents and Immigration officials. He was interrogated for almost 12 hours and his crew and US visas were cancelled. He was released into BWIA’s custody. Wight returned home on December 29.

First officer Joseph was apprehended in the full view of his passengers on arrival at JFK International in New York on December 23. He too was questioned for several hours and later released after it was determined that there was “no justification” for his detention. Joseph returned home on December 31. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had described the placing of the pilots’ name on the “no fly” list as some form of “vindictiveness.” Names of persons appearing on the “no fly” list are allegedly associated with terrorist activities.