CAL apologises to stranded Puerto Rico passengers

CARIBBEAN Airlines Ltd (CAL) has apologised to passengers who were left stranded at an airport in Puerto Rico between Monday and Tuesday, after the flight they were on had to be diverted to that country because of a medical emergency on board.

Newsday reported that over 100 passengers were stranded at the Luis Munoz Marin airport with no food or water for over 18 hours as they awaited word on when they would be flown home to Trinidad.

The state-owned airline company, in a press release issued at 3 am on Wednesday, said all passengers whose flight was diverted to Puerto Rico were now safely at their final destinations.

The airline "unreservedly apologised" to the passengers for the experience that resulted from the disruption. The release said it was CAL's intention to provide a relief flight on the same day the diversion occurred, but because of circumstances outside its control, the relief flight could not leave Puerto Rico as anticipated.

Puerto Rico is not a destination on Caribbean Airlines’ regular route network, the release pointed out.

"While support systems were in place on the island, several factors outside of the airline's authority made the operation less efficient than planned."

CAL confirmed that the relief flight landed at Piarco Airport at 2.26 am on Wednesday and senior managers were on hand to meet the passengers, who were all given letters of apology as they disembarked the aircraft.