Ezjet airline's
operations have been suspended by the United States Department of
Transportation (DoT) because the carrier owes huge sums to the aircraft
lease company resulting in a number of flight cancellations, officials
here said.
“We understand that the genesis of the action by
the US Department of Transport resides with actions, requests made via
their aircraft provider, Swift Air, with respect to being up-to-speed as
it were with respect to payments,” Aviation Minister, Robeson Benn told
a news conference.
Benn could not say how much money Ezjet owes
Swift Air and over what period . He added that Guyanese authorities were
seeking further details about the “unfolding” situation facing the
carrier and passengers.
Well-placed aviation industry sources say
that the airline has been suspending flights at short notice in recent
weeks, with three cancellations alone for this week.
Benn said
DoT suspended the airline's operations on Thursday and Guyanese
authorities learnt of the move on Friday. Since then, according to Benn,
the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has suspended Ezjet's
scheduled air services on the Georgetown-New York, Georgetown-Toronto
and Georgetown routes.
He explained that the GCAA’s suspension of
the license is “designed to protect as much as possible any action
which would see further ticket sales happening which would impair or
hurt people going forward.”
Benn said government was disappointed
about Ezjet's misfortunes coming soon after the collapse of regional
low-cost carrier, RedJet. "We are unhappy and disappointed that our
efforts to bring low-cost aircraft operators into a more competitive
environment in our international travel arrangements are for the moment
not turning out in the way we expect," he told a news conference.
He
said Commerce Minister, Irfaan Ali has been tasked with exploring
“relief or assistance” to affected passengers. Ezjet’s Acting CEO,
Rosalinda Rasool is expected to provide Guyanese authorities with a
precise number of affected passengers based on forward ticket-sales for
promotions and passenger movements.
Ezjet, like other airlines, are required to make a US200,000 deposit that could be used to bail out passengers stranded here.
Whether
Ezjet’s license would be cancelled, he said, would depend on whether
the carrier can resolve its financial difficulties in the coming days.
The
suspension of the carrier comes less than one month after its Founder
and Chief Executive Officer, Sonny Ramdeo was sued by a hospital chain
for allegedly embezzling more than US$5 million into Ezjet.
Ramdeo has since stepped down as CEO of the airline and Rasool named as his acting successor.
Crediting
Ezjet with a dramatic impact on the cost of travel, overall improvement
in service and an increase in the number of visitors, Benn expected
that market forces would impact on the service being provided by other
international and regional airlines. “We will have to now work hard
again to see to what extent the usual providers would be able to hold
their current fares and also to see whether we are still attractive to
low cost providers,” he said.
The Aviation Minister said the
suspension of Ezjet’s operations “may be a blow to many persons who were
hoping to come here for the season so we will reexamine the issue and
see what response the market place could have for the peak season coming
in.”
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