60 Trinidadians stranded in Curacao

Some 60 Trinidadians are stranded in Curacao while another 60 that were supposed to leave Trinidad yesterday for Curacao had to be sent back home by the Dutch Caribbean Airline (DCA.) One stranded woman, Helen Kennedy, the quality system manager at National Flour Mills, described the situation as “utterly ridiculous.” Speaking to Sunday Newsday from the Howard Johnson hotel in Curacao, Kennedy said no one was telling them anything and the ground staff of DCA are “just plain rude.” Kennedy, her sister Dr Sandra Kennedy, who is attached to St Ann’s Hospital and their 74-year-old mother Jean, had gone to Curacao for a short holiday.

Kennedy said they arrived in Curacao on Tuesday and were scheduled to leave on Friday, but when they turned up at the airport Friday night, they were simply told that the flight, K8 3700 for Trinidad had been cancelled. She said she later found out there were problems with the aircraft scheduled to operate the service. She said the airline indicated it would provide accommodation for them and they would leave on an early flight the following morning. They all showed up at 5.30 am at the airport only to be told once more that the flight was cancelled and were again promised  accommodation and chits for three meals, plus two telephone calls. However, Kennedy’s mother, who suffers from hypertension and heart problems ran out of her medication. Kennedy said she related her mother’s predicament to  an airline employee, who was “in charge of them”  and asked that a doctor be made available to see her mother and prescribe the medicine for her, but the DCA employee refused, Helen added. “The woman suggested instead that when we  return to the hotel we should arrange to see the hotel doctor and foot the bill.”

Helen said that there was no assistance, encouragement, help nor information coming from the ground staff. All they got were rude replies and attitude, she said. Up to the time of this conversation with Helen yesterday afternoon, she did not have any idea when they will be returning home. She has vowed never to travel to Curacao again, and suggested that if the Curacao authorities want to keep tourists coming they should intervene and ensure airlines operate professionally and efficiently. Newsday learnt last night that repairs to the airplane were expected to be completed by today and the passengers would be flown to Trinidad tonight, and those in Trinidad will leave Monday morning for Curacao. DCA operates five flights per week — Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday    out of Trinidad to Curacao, using DC9 and MD80 aircraft, which are equipped to accommodate about 101 and 139 passengers respectively.