BA flight expected Monday evening
(CNS): Governor Marty Roper confirmed on Monday that the British Airways air-bridge emergency flight was due to land this evening after leaving the UK earlier today. It is landing in Bermuda first before coming to Cayman, where it will overnight. However, the governor stressed that the crew will be fully isolated and vigorously managed.
The charter is leaving 129 Bermudians on that island and will arrive here with medical supplies, including testing kits and personal protection equipment, and 59 Caymanians.
The flight will then return to London via the Bahamas with 103 UK nationals from here and several more from Nassau.
The governor said the flight will also be carrying a team of experts from Britain, comprising around 15 to 20 military and development personnel, who will fly from here to the Turks and Caicos Islands, which has “more immediate issues around security than we do”.
Nevertheless, as part of “sensible contingent planning”, the governor said he would be having a virtual meeting this week with various departments in London to discuss the security situation here and how things might develop in the future.
Premier Alden McLaughlin was asked about possible regional airlifts for people who want to leave here as well as for Caymanians who are stuck in other destinations to return. He said the deputy premier was working on those arrangements and he did not have anything to report.
“But it is something that is increasingly becoming a priority for us to make these flights available for those who would like to leave,” McLaughlin said.
He said he was not aware of a significant number of people stuck in the United States and other regional jurisdictions who are now low on cash.
However, he urged anyone in this predicament and want to come home to call the emergency travel hotline. CNS understands that there are several dozen people stuck in the US but government has not indicated if they will be assisted financially.
See the press briefing on CITV below, starting at the discussion on the BA flight:
Category: Health, Local News, Medical Health
Flights were dirt cheap the last week before the airport closed. I brought my daughter home from Miami on Cayman Airways for $81 one way just before the airport closed and the flight wasn’t full. I guess people never expected it to get this bad. I always thought that as long as the supplies continue to come in then Cayman is a good place to ride out the pandemic
One way flights from Miami to Cayman have been similarly priced for a long time, on American as well. I have used it to stop over in Miami when returning from London, much cheaper than booking a stopover.
Why these caymanians stuck overseas didn’t come home before the airport was closed, people have to learn to look out for themselves
Hey Mario, Mrs Roper wasn’t on the flight, where did you get your information from. ?