US apologises to BWIA pilots

THE UNITED STATES Government yesterday apologised to BWIA pilots, Capt Anthony Wight and First Officer Rawle Joseph, who were detained in the US last year by Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) officers on suspicion of being terrorists. The apology from the US was the result of ongoing diplomatic efforts by the Foreign Affairs Ministry since both incidents occurred. Through the Trinidad and Tobago Embassy in Washington DC, the Ministry sought the intervention of US Secretary of State Colin Powell and the Department of Homeland Security “to address the matter which had threatened the careers and good name of the pilots.”

In its official response to the Government yesterday, the US State Department said it “regrets the inconvenience caused by the incident to the pilots, BWIA and the Government of TT. There is no longer any impediment caused by this incident to prevent Capt Wight and First Officer Joseph from receiving visas and both men have been issued relevant visas,” the State Department said. The State Department added that Wight’s and Joseph’s names have been removed from the “no fly list” and they are re-listed on the “Approved Cockpit List.”

The Foreign Affairs Ministry also said it received a letter from Wight confirming that his US visa had been reinstated. In that letter, Wight thanked the Ministry for its assistance and said on his inaugural flight to Miami following last year’s ordeal, he was welcomed back into the US by Asst Port Director (US Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security) Thomas Mattina.

The Ministry said while the matter took ten weeks to resolve it was always confident “that there would be an amicable resolution. The response from the Department of State is evidence of the very friendly relations which exist between our two countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs looks forward to the continuation of said relations with the US, which are sure to grow even stronger to the mutual benefit of both countries,” the Ministry added.