Cubans whose return home from Guyana has been delayed over the past three days will begin returning today as Aruba Air is expected to dispatch two aircraft to CJIA this afternoon.
The affected Cubans have been accommodated at Roraima Airways Residence Inn, Duke Lode and other hotels and facilitiesand are being provided three meals every day.
The delays result from mechanical issues arising from the engine of the Aruba Air aircraft dedicated to its Guyana route being hit by birds late Saturday.
“Aruba Air’s top priority is safety. The mechanical issue took a bit longer to rectify than initially anticipated and the aircraft is now back in service. Additionally, a second aircraft is being diverted to the Guyana route to effectively deal with the backlog of passengers,” says Capt. Gerry Gouveia, chief executive officer of Roraima Airways, the local representative of Aruba Air.
Capt. Gouveia explained that a standard operating arrangement is in place for delayed Aruba Air passengers to be accommodated at Residence Inn but due to the extended delay additional accommodation had to be secured.
“Aruba Air had expected to have the Guyana flightoperational on Monday but the mechanical issue was not rectified by that time as was anticipated. This resulted in the need for additional accommodation at short notice and arrangements were immediately put in place to have them comfortably accommodated in groups so that they could interact among themselves and at the same time be communicated with together and updated on departure information,” Gouveia said.
Aruba Air regrets the inconvenience caused by this delay.