Airport issues blow visitor’s birthday celebrations off course
Hundreds of rerouted passengers stalled at Kingston’s NMIA
Published:Friday | August 11, 2023 | 12:10 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
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ALYIA WILLIAMS, a resident of North Carolina, had high hopes of celebrating her 31st birthday yesterday with an excursion and fun-filled activities in Jamaica. However, at 1:45 p.m., she found herself sitting on the ground outside the packed Norman...
ALYIA WILLIAMS, a resident of North Carolina, had high hopes of celebrating her 31st birthday yesterday with an excursion and fun-filled activities in Jamaica.
However, at 1:45 p.m., she found herself sitting on the ground outside the packed Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA), waiting to be picked up.
Her plan was to land at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, at 7:51 a.m. and move quickly to her booked Airbnb location for a close-to-9 a.m. check-in.
Like hundreds of tourists coming to Jamaica yesterday, Williams’ flight was delayed. She arrived at the airport in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States, around 4:30 a.m. for a 5:45 a.m. departure, but her flight was delayed by 45 minutes. Additionally, she underwent a four-hour drive from North Carolina to the airport.
Thinking she had overcome enough challenges on her birthday, Williams’ plans for a grand celebration further crumbled after she and her friends got into Jamaica’s airspace and were notified that they would be rerouted to the NMIA in Kingston, given that construction was taking place on the runway extension at Sangster International Airport.
“We didn’t land until 8:40 a.m. We flew around in the sky until 8:40 a.m. We didn’t get off the plane until 11 a.m. And the inconvenience of people just telling us that they were taking us to Kingston. We missed our Club MoBay. We missed our excursions today. We missed our early check-in that we had to pay for as well as our transportation that was already sitting at Montego Bay’s airport,” Williams, who was extremely disgruntled, said before pointing out to The Gleaner that it was 1:46 p.m., way beyond her scheduled arrival time.
Williams was further disappointed when she was told by authorities that she would have to wait to be transported by bus to Montego Bay while her intention was to go to Ocho Rios, St Ann.
“They said that ground transportation could take us back to Montego Bay, but we aren’t staying in Montego Bay. Nothing has been done. Very much of an inconvenience. As of now, we haven’t really gotten any updates. We did get an email stating that they may give us up to US$100, but it was not confirmed. Other than that, nothing. No accommodations have been given. We haven’t even been able to speak with anyone,” Williams explained to The Gleaner.
She said they were considering paying additional money to be privately transported directly to Ocho Rios instead.
For her trip to Jamaica, Williams told The Gleaner that she spent over US$1,000 and that she and her travel partners believe they lost US$500 together yesterday in early check-in and excursion costs.
Like many other passengers, Williams said she was very hungry as the last time she had a wholesome meal was before she left the United States.
“I haven’t eaten since yesterday. It’s real bad,” she said.
Meanwhile, Williams’ close friend, Brittany McDonald, was also found sitting, disgruntled, on the ground, at NMIA.
“It was an inconvenience. We paid for some stuff that we can’t get back now because they [the airline] are saying it’s not their fault. But it’s not our fault either. We’ve been sitting here for four hours probably,” McDonald told The Gleaner.
Unlike Williams and McDonald, Anthony McKenzie, who arrived in the island from Canada, had a different outlook. He was just grateful to be on his home soil.
“I don’t really feel a way about it. It’s just a part of life. I’m just waiting on the bus to go down now,” McKenzie said, adding that he was uncertain of the time he would aboard the bus as it was on its way from Montego Bay to Kingston.
There were other disgruntled tourists who were heading to western parts of the island, some as far as Negril, who found themselves with no other choice but to use their emergency cash to pay for private transportation to their destination or wait hours for buses being arranged by the airlines.
The runway at the Sangster International Airport was reopened mid-afternoon on Thursday, but the flight schedule had not returned to normal up to late evening.