BWIA Strikes Again: Guyana Squad Stranded

For the second time in two weeks cricketers representing Guyana have found themselves stranded by top regional airline BWIA.

The Guyana team for the Red Stripe Bowl was scheduled to travel Monday for St. Lucia to contest Zone 'B' of the preliminary rounds but had to return to Georgetown after their plane, scheduled to depart at 10:40 hrs, did not show up.

According to manager Pat Legall, after the plane failed to show up for 10:40 he was informed that it would arrive at 12:00 and the new departure time would be 12:30. When the plane once again failed to show, Legall said he was advised to take the team back to Georgetown and return today for a flight at 15:00 hrs. A clearly upset Legall hoped they would have it much easier tomorrow.

When contacted BWIA Area Manager Dawn Murray said simply that the flight had been cancelled and the passengers rebooked for today. She said some 50 passengers were affected by the cancellation.

The regional airline has been hit by a protest by pilots and other employees in recent weeks, resulting in disruptive flight arrangements with frequent delays and cancellations.

The Guyana team to the regional Under-19 tournament in Jamaica also had travel problems on July 30. Three of the players were forced to travel the following day after no place was found for them on a LIAT flight to which they had been transferred from BWIA.

SOURCE: Guyana Chronicle.