Caribbean Airlines (CAL) reportedly suffered a loss of around $15 million due to the recent two-day flight disruption, as sources within the airline revealed. The financial impact includes costs from chartering aircraft, compensating passengers, providing accommodations and meals, and legal expenses for obtaining an injunction against the Trinidad and Tobago Airline Pilots’ Association (TTALPA). The airline expressed frustration over the cancellation of 60 flights, blaming it on pilot sick calls. CAL secured an injunction from the Industrial Court against TTALPA, and negotiations between the two parties continue. CAL apologised to passengers and acknowledged the reputational damage incurred during the incident.
The situation exacerbated the problems with the airbridge as a lot of vacationers for the Great Race weekend were stranded, along with regular Tobagonians needing to travel for business. Chief Secretary Farley Augustine petitioned for CAL to no longer have control over the commercial airspace in the country.
Notwithstanding CAL’s $15 million loss over the past few days, Augustine accused the airline of not caring about Tobago’s need for easy access to air transportation between the islands. The Chief Secretary will be hosting a special stakeholder town hall meeting on Tuesday 29th August to treat the inter-island transportation situation. In the meantime, he issued this apology to travellers.
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