BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Less than 24 hours after making its inaugural flight to Guyana, the low budget airline, REDjet, is informing passengers who bought tickets to travel to Jamaica this week that the flight has been cancelled.
In an email sent to passengers, the airline, which created a stir when it announced its arrival on the regional scene a few weeks ago, said it may also have to cancel its flights to Jamaica next week.
“Due to political and regulatory actions in Jamaica beyond our control, REDjet cannot operate flights between Barbados to Jamaica between 11th May and 24th May,” said the email, signed by the airline’s Business Development Director Robbie Burns.
“As a result, we regrettably announce that passengers booked on eight scheduled flights between Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica will not be able to travel as planned. No other routes or flights are affected by this decision and will operate as scheduled.”
REDjet did not specify what “political and regulatory actions” had caused the disruption to passengers’ flight plans.
The airline also experienced similar problems with its Trinidad and Tobago market after the government there indicated that the airline, which is expected to bring about a high level of competition for other regional carriers, had no permission to land at the Piarco International Airport.
REDjet marked its inaugural commercial flight to Guyana on Tuesday, carrying 149 passengers.
Guyana has long complained about the high cost of travelling to other destinations in the region and
Tourism Minister Manniram Prashad said REDjet should not be seen as an enemy of other regional carriers.
“I would like to say to the other airlines and to the Caribbean countries that own airlines, my view is, REDjet is not competition. REDjet is here to complement the service that you are doing. We must look at it in that aspect,” he told reporters.
REDjet will operate four flights into Guyana on a weekly basis. (CMC)
