Torn cargo holds main reason for BWIA luggage chaos
-more aircraft chartered
By Oscar P. Clarke
Stabroek News
December 24, 2004
Deep tears in the material in cargo holds are the main reason for luggage-less passengers and off-schedule flights but BWIA Area Manager Carlton DeFour says the airline is trying to manage the situation.
"…BWIA has chartered two additional freighter aircraft to clear excess baggage and to make sure that the luggage is delivered to passengers in time for the holidays," DeFour said.
Persons travelling with the major regional carrier have over the past week been experiencing major disruptions including long delays and the non-arrival of their luggage as a result of the problems the airline has been having with its cargo holds.
DeFour, who hosted a media briefing yesterday, apologised profusely for the inconvenience passengers are suffering while assuring them that the airline is instituting steps to prevent a recurrence.
Meanwhile, other airlines flying to Guyana are also experiencing difficulties ferrying luggage. Checks with Universal Airlines and Liat saw them acknowledging that some passengers' luggage had been left behind and were being brought in on other flights.
A source at Liat told Stabroek News that because of strict weight restrictions, the airline is forced to leave some pieces of luggage for later flights. But it has been dealing with the issue by having these brought in on flights the next day.
Male passengers
According to the source, the Dash 8 aircraft used by the airline accommodates limited weight and once there is an increase in male passengers, who are on average 10 kg heavier than females, the capacity to carry luggage is reduced.
At Universal Airlines, Vice President of Sales and Administration Mark De Freitas said the airline's luggage situation is under control and anyone whose bag was left behind would receive it on the next flight which would usually be on the same day. He added that a flight that was scheduled to arrive at 11 am yesterday saw all passengers getting their bags.
However, one passenger Oswin Gibson who arrived in the country on December 17 told this newspaper he was still missing one piece of his luggage.
Asked about this, De Freitas said according to his information people who arrived on that day should have their bags and that he found it strange that someone who came in on that flight was still to get theirs.
Grace Jacobs, Gibson's niece told this newspaper yesterday that she had called the airline repeatedly to query about the missing bag and had been told "please leave a baggage claim number and that they are checking with the flights". Aviation sources said the only carrier that seems not to be experiencing problems is North American airlines. This, they said, was because the airline was operating a large plane to carry the load.
Sources at Timehri said Caribbean Star was also experiencing problems. However, efforts to contact representatives of the airline yesterday proved futile.
Meanwhile, DeFour told the media at the Ariantze Hotel in Middle Street that the Trinidadian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had, in the interest of passenger safety, ordered BWIA to check all its aircraft after maintenance checks revealed tears in the cargo holds of two craft.
As a result, Beewee made a decision to check all its craft despite flying a tight schedule, DeFour said. Currently three aircraft are down for checks, but in the interim BWIA has leased two from Marine Air and these have been pressed into service, DeFour said.
He pointed to a report in Thursday's Trinidad Guardian newspaper which highlights the problems associated with the cargo hold.
According to the Guardian report tears, more than 16 inches in length, had punctured the fire retardant material that separated the cargo holds from hot pipes which ran behind the storage areas in the holds. But this posed no danger to passengers travelling on the aircraft, the report said.
Safety precaution
Sources quoted by the newspaper had said that as a safety precaution, BWIA had sealed off the cargo holds of four aircraft until they could be repaired. This meant no luggage could be allowed onboard and these had to be transported on separate planes. This, according to the newspaper report, caused severe delays in the arrival of some passengers' luggage.
Director General of Civil Aviation in Trinidad Ramesh Lutchmedial confirmed that the CAA was informed of the cargo hold tears, the report said.
"We are monitoring it to ensure that the safety requirements are met at all times," Lutchmedial said. "It is perfectly safe to have the aircraft transport passengers with the cargo sealed off with no cargo inside."
BWIA corporate communications manager Dionne Ligoure like DeFour at the briefing yesterday assured passengers that their safety was not being compromised. She also had said this was not the only cause of the airline's baggage problems but gave no further details, the report said.
A Guardian source said airlines constantly had to repair tears in the cargo holds of their planes, but in this instance BWIA ran out of the material used to line the holds. Sources quoted by the newspaper also said the fire retardant lining in the cargo hold often suffered tears from the wheels of passengers' luggage or badly packed suitcases.
"And at this time of the year, given the increase in the volume of luggage, the cargo holds can experience an increase in the tears.
"You're only allowed a certain tolerance, no more than 16 inches on a cut," a source told the newspaper.
DeFour stressed that these tears are a normal occurrence and that the airline was forced to make periodic checks and replace the lining.
"However I hasten to add that a freighter was put in place almost immediately to transport the left luggage into Trinidad and Barbados. This system worked and within 24 hours, the bags were in Trinidad," DeFour said.
But luggage for passengers destined for Guyana was unduly delayed because of the unavailability of aircraft in the region to bring them here until Wednesday, the area manager said.
On Wednesday, after an intervention by Foreign Trade and International Cooperation Minister Clement Rohee with his Trinidadian counterpart Ken Valley, BWIA chartered a DHL aircraft to bring the luggage.
DeFour acknowledged that the intervention had facilitated the arrival of approximately 1000 pieces of baggage. More pieces were brought from Barbados yesterday.
Shouting
He insisted the problem was not only being felt in Guyana or by Guyanese as some might be tempted to believe, but also in Trinidad, Barbados and even New York.
A report in yesterday's edition of the Trinidad Express newspaper said the New York Port Authority Police had to be called in to quell an 'angry mob' at New York's JFK airport on Tuesday after passengers began shouting at counter staff.
The irate passengers, many of whom were Trinidadians returning home for Christmas, had gone to the terminal after spending the night at a nearby hotel courtesy of the airline after their flight had been delayed on Monday night.
Although no arrests were made and tempers were calmed the atmosphere at the airport terminal was described as a "nightmare", the Express report said.
The passengers were eventually placed on a flight on Tuesday night.
Similarly, the newspaper reported that on Tuesday a group of about 70 passengers attempting to travel to the Dominican Republic with BWIA were screaming at airline staff in Port of Spain after their flight had been delayed for several days. They had to be accommodated at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and were supposed to have eventually departed on Wednesday evening.
DeFour said that on the Toronto route the airline made a decision to use one of its airbuses as a means of clearing up the backlog at that port.
He dismissed claims of overbooking and said rather, BWIA had lowered its booking capacity in order to adequately accommodate those travelling.
According to the area manager, the airline had foreseen some of the problems being experienced and had put contingencies in place to alleviate it.
DeFour acknowledged that there might have been, in some instances, a lack of effective communication with passengers.
DeFour said he had received reports of ill treatment of customers which the airline had instituted certain measures to deal with. He did not elaborate. He said he was not trying to make excuses for staff but in some instances mistakes might have been made as a result of high-stress situations.
The Guyana leg, DeFour said, is one of the busiest routes and any hiccup in service would naturally have an effect on it.
He estimated that some 50% of passengers had been affected by the recent luggage hitches. Yesterday many persons who had arrived over the last week were only just receiving their luggage.
At the BWIA office passengers who had been inconvenienced were uplifting their inconvenience allowance and making claims for damaged luggage and lost items, but there was a more orderly atmosphere than in previous days.
DeFour said Beewee had paid out a lot to passengers over the last few days but stopped short of giving a specific figure.
Questioned about security of luggage following claims of broached pieces, DeFour said security at airports including Timehri had been heightened. He saw the current situation as a logistical challenge because of the sheer volume of luggage.
Meanwhile, sources at the airport yesterday afternoon said BWIA flights continue to be delayed the latest being BW 425 which was scheduled to arrive at 3 pm. It was rescheduled to finally arrive some time last night.