Two Miami summer repatriation flights added
(CNS): Two more Cayman Airways flights have been given the green light for take-off to Miami in August due to the increased demand for essential travel. Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said the decision to add flights was in response to the number of requests that Cayman Airways received over the past month and are reserved for people and their families travelling for school or medical reasons. The additional flights will be on Tuesday 3 and 10 August.
Speaking in Parliament this week, Bryan said there was a waiting list of around 800 people but government was now going to enforce the meaning of essential travel to prevent those planning a vacation trip from taking seats from people in genuine need.
“It has come to my attention that we have Caymanians and permanent residents unable to book flight seats for essential travel. We also have individuals stranded abroad unable to return,” he said. “While the PACT Government works to introduce a safe border reopening strategy, we ask the public to be community-minded and only book flights for essential purposes.”
Cayman Airways will be reaching out to individuals on their waiting list for flights to provide instructions on how they can submit applications for a seat on these flights.
Applications are to be sent to EssentialTravel@gov.ky and evidence of essential travel should be included in this application. When applying, travellers should supply medical referrals and school or college enrollment documents.
Essential travel is officially defined as:
- Travel for urgent medical attention not available on island
- Accompanying an individual travelling for urgent medical purposes
- Educational purposes e.g. returning from or attending educational institutions
- Up to two guardians escorting children 21 years or under returning from or attending educational institutions
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Category: Local News, Travel
what is Covid-19?
Does a 21 year old need two adults to escort him back from college?.
Would like it to be Miami
The US should stop allowing Caymanians to go in until they can freely come here. I bet you’d see us removing restrictions and adding flights in a hurry!
If we had Covid, and they did not, they would.
Following you’d logic, should we bar entry to Canadians?
I beg you please!
You do have covid. The people who currently have covid are in quarantine.
As of July 22- Cayman Islands 632 cases, 619 recovered, 2 deaths.
Open the dang border!
Yes but we don’t have flights going into Canada on CAL. That was my point.
The US doesn’t care what you do. They barely know where you are.
This is the ridiculous thing I have every seen. The rest of the worlds moving on Cayman needs to move on as well. COVID in all forms will forever be around!! This way of living is not sustainable for the Island.
Yes! Red Lobster here we come! Kenny for Premier!
1:09 pm , are you drunk or drugged up ? Ok we know, your got to be both, to say a stupid question like that,
Lmao best comment eva🤣
No matter what the mandates are people still complain. So How about completely closed cayman borders for a year more. No passenger flights in or out. Only flights between inter island !!!! Only cargo flights and cargo ships. Then let’s see what people will complain about then.???
12:12 people are JUSTIFIED in complaining!!! Our borders should already be open.
Still a minority that wants the border open and most of them bitching on CNS. Border isn’t opening anytime soon if at all in 2021, deal with it. Kids going to school and life is good being covid free. Be grateful for the envious position we are in.
I doubt very much that it’s a minority
This is easy to understand. The government knows they will be crucified when the first Cayman family comes down with covid after reopening. Especially if one of them has to be hospitalized. It would be better if there was suddenly a little community transmission going on right now.Unfortunately total quarantine of the island actually worked, and a lot of people don’t care if it ever reopens.
Asking again, if people are leaving and coming back, what does it matter who it is? A local, a resident or a tourist who is vaccinated are doing the same motion. Start the economy. Open the borders to those vaccinated. The risk is the same no matter who is making the move on and off the island. Covid doesn’t know the person is a local.
No one should be just “leaving and coming back.” Travel should only be taking place where essential at this stage.
Why??? I’m double vaccinated and when I return I can quarantine in my house. So why can’t I go?
At this stage? Which stage is this then?
Why? Really, why? We have had travel with quarantine for a while now, and zero cases of community transmission. So what exactly is the point of limiting the travel by residents? Travel without quarantine but with vaccination is an entirely different argument.
Oddly enough these rules are only being imposed in the summer when all the teachers are off…interesting!
Is this a British Overseas Territory or a frikkin Miami Overseas Territory?
I’d have to say Miami.
what not implement that flight
Yes and Xmas will be two years. Get flights on and tell us now, this really is ridiculous and more stressful! Negotiate with BA from now and get organised instead of kicking ball down the road, the excuses are not working and not valid! Sitting on your backsides on huge salaries and increases with your families, cajoling in Parliament about reusable water bottles is an insult and utter disgrace!
Wow, should I be grateful for assholes giving me a crumb.
This time next year Cayman will have achieved Herd Immunity.
Most of the population will have taken an easy and safe vaccine with little to no side effects, the rest will have experienced Covid.
Some with little or no symptoms, some will get very ill with perhaps lasting complications, and some will not survive.
I am happy that government provided us with the first option.
So how many have booked a one way ticket. Repatriation the name is a joke.
It is just a shopping trip for the privileged.
That isn’t helpful or Caymankind…. You should be ashamed. Seeing older parents for the first time in years, school and other levitate reasons are a plenty
Stupid and insensitive comment. If your health or that of loved one depended on travel for urgent medical care overseas, you would learn some empathy.
Despite being called essential these flights are not for essential travel only. Many people are taking advantage of the 5 day quarantine period to go on vacation. If they were not being allowed to travel unnecessarily there would be lots of seats for those needing medical services etc
If the government didn’t limit it to 2 flights a week there would be plenty of seats as well. But let’s blame the passengers that booked their seats well in advance because there isnt a seat available for students trying to return to college or a medical trip – especially when the former could have been foreseen some time ago. My kid is going to college at the end of the month – booked their flight last month no problem.
We want flight to cuba please
I want flights to Cayman please with no quarantine period.
Only in Cayman would we define children as ‘21 years or younger’. Good grief …. Go home to mama….
This is just to pander to the needs of one or two specific individuals who have demanded it be such.
So do the “guardians “ have to be parents or even older than the “child”?
2:56pn, yes!!!! If a 21 year old still needs a parent/guardian (or worse yet TWO of them!) to travel with them to school, they have no damn business being away in school!
Well most of us have been vaccinated, still need the stubborn ones to go so we get to the 80%
Why don’t you just respect the wishes of those who do not want the experimental shot? They are not holding you hostage it is a government policy doing that. Just stop with the name calling and leave them alone!
There is nothing stubborn about us.
We value our lives too much to be guinea pigs.
You had your choice and I have mine.
I could easily say that you are the stubborn one refusing to listen to common sense.
Thankfully we don’t live in the same house or probably the same district for that matter. Go about your business as you see fit and if others want to listen, they will.
There remains a modicum of freedom still.
Good luck.
So when there is community transmission the plan is to close the schools, lockdowns and mandatory masks?
Pretty much!
Why? No need for lockdown anymore.
9 20 you are in denial. There are people out there that have been vaccinated and are coming down with Covid!!!! Get real. People will have to learn to live with Covid. Go ahead living in your fantasy bubble.
CNS: People who are vaccinated can get the virus, though it significantly slows down the spread. However, the vaccines are very effective in stopping serious illness and death. Latest study shows two shots of Pfizer vaccine effective vs Delta – but getting second shot vital
I’m double vaxxed and happy to quarantine. Need BA flights now!
Ditto. Everything long completely sold out (other than every once in awhile a one-way $6,000 seat shows up….I’d love to sit in that chair but I cant really afford that for a 9 hour flight 🙂 ).
There is such demand. Please permit BA a few more flights.
This is ridiculous.
Why does Bermuda have 3 BA flights a week & we have one every 2 weeks? Especially since PACT decided our population is 7,000 people higher than theirs. SMH
You complain that you want the border shut, but you want to fly in and out to other countries. What is the difference if a vaccinated local or a vaccinated tourist enters or exits the border?
Why can a local enter another country and feel that is ok, but a tourist can’t enter the island?
Does any of it really make sense?
Is it really essential to go to Miami for shopping? Walmart? Family vacation?
What difference does it make if the border opens in September or January?
What a mess.
The difference is many expats here, 50% of the population who offer every bit as much to Cayman’s economy and quality of life as the 50% Caymanians, haven’t seen their families in over 2 years.
Anon, U all should have left Paradise, when u all had the chance, but, NOOOO!! So, suck it up,and stop complaining.
It isn’t paradise. Don’t kid yourself.
Paradise Lost
Perhaps some of us are contributing to you paradise and safety….
Look at your headlines lately. Paradise?
Hope you did not make use of your free vaccine then! Go independent and suck that up!
It matters to people who want to see their elderly parents before they did &/or attend their funerals.
It matters to people who haven’t seen their children for almost 2 years.
It matters to people who want the borders open. The at risk ages have met the % target,
Just open up flights & keep after arrival testing, before release, after 5 days to this’d vaccinated.
What was the point if getting vaccinated this year if nothing changes?
Good post. Exactly how I feel.
The reason, unfortunately, and I am desperate to get to the UK for a month in August for the first time in 2 years, is that the ‘opening plan’ doesn’t end the electronic GPS tagging and all the airport shuttle and monitoring of people quarantining at their disclosed locations for a while yet. It costs about 3 to 5k per person for the government – they don’t want to have to track and monitor thousands in quarantine.
Yes it does. GPS monitoring ends August 9th according to the government plan. Then it is just spot checks.
In any event, I totally dispute your 3 to 5k cost per person. Completely made up.
Because Bermuda opened up a year ago.
As did Turks and Caicos, 1 year and 2 days ago!
Need WestJet flights NOW!!!!
Why. Just get on a flight to miami or kingston and there are plenty of connecting flights to canada.
10.42am No room on JA flights. They’re visiting home and then coming back to holiday/quarantine at a hotel on Govt dime. A real repatriation flight should come back empty.
Almost everyone I know in exactly the same boat. I suspect more voters want to go shopping in Miami than visit relatives in the UK though so we’re going to have more of a wait.
if the demand is there, and people are capable of quarantining at home and can prove it then they should put the flights on, we are paying the lease fees for the new jets are maintaining test requirements for re-entry. there are things that people cant do here that are making lives difficult for a lot of people. I get keeping testing and quarantine requirements, but we should have kept the field hospital running to allow a second facility to use for covid patients that need hospitalization so that the HSA doesn’t have to limit access to services. if your willing to wear the trackers and stay home during quarentine then why limit the access?
I’m not getting on those deathtraps anyway. I’m waiting for Delta to start with the A320
I can quarantine at home once I return from Cayman, but can not afford to quarantine in cayman. Been vaccinated since March 2020.
Definition of repatriation: the act or process of restoring or returning someone or something to the country of origin, allegiance, or citizenship.
Who tf cares why we are traveling. We all have to quarantine when we come back no matter what so who cares if we go off island if it’s on our own dime that’s the deal leave us be an open the skies.
Yes, yes and more yesses! Today at work we were all ranting about the same thing. 16 months, let grown up adults make their own decisions.
Bermuda has over 50 flights a week now on multiple carriers. Quarantine/testing etc protocol on return.
Bermuda has Covid in the community.
Yes it does, just like the rest of the world, except in Bermuda it is manageable. Nobody in hospital, sensible entry guidelines, lots of tourist and business visitors, and you quarantined if you arrive positive etc…
Doesn’t matter, those who have chosen not to be vaccinated can take what is coming to them.
So what? Do you actually think we will never have covid here again? If you are vaccinated, it isn’t really a concern. We need to stop thinking that we will never allow a community spread case here.
A person can still become infected with COVID-19 even if vaccinated.
But they won’t die. That’s the point of the vaccine.
They have 15 cases, even with all the flights coming in
Sooooo??? Get on with it!
Because it should work both ways. Why should you be able to travel out, but people can’t travel in? Makes no sense at all. We have relatives, friends, etc. on island….you have relatives, friends, etc. off island.
These restrictions on our civil liberties won’t be accepted for much longer. Open the border!
Better these restrictions than masks, closed schools, lockdowns, and even death. Grow up and confront some of the realities facing the world around you.
Grow up and understand the vaccine is here and we’ve been vaccinated for months now.
Who is “we?” I know thousands of “us” who are not. I consider many of them to be ignorant, but that in itself ought not to cost them their lives. Not so you can vacation.
We cannot keep the borders closed indefinitely. Why were we rushed into getting vaccinations earlier this year if nothing changes until next year (if then)?
No one has ever said the borders will be closed indefinitely so why do you say it?
So you can keep people hostage on an island then? You realize sooner or later this is coming. One could argue Cayman could make it worse as the unexposed/unvaccinated cause the mutations. Either mandate vaccinations or open up. Thinking you can change “thousands of “us” who are not” is not going to happen.
How about attending my mother’s funeral??
Should that be allowed or are we all lumped into “shopping in Miami”??!!
The point is people have lives to live and this paradise prison is wearing thin….
If your mom is vaccinated then she should have nothing to worry about. Is she making contact with people traveling before their released from quarantine? No… Then she has nothing to worry about.
Huh?
What an ignorant reply @7:55am. My mother has ALREADY died…! There is no risk of her contacting covid nor does the family have any concerns about this occurring. I merely wrote that I need to get off this island to attend her funeral and it is not possible until September. Some of us do have legitimate reasons to leave….
This government now wants to dictate the health needs of every individual. An attempt to prevent urgent care requires individuals to go to a health provider at their time and choice, which can require needing to travel.
Doctors,does government have the right to know individual’s health issues? There seems to be some privacy issues at play here.
Just allow more damn regular flights. Many of us haven’t seen family in two years. I am double-vaxed since March and fully willing to do the quarantine on return.
So ridiculous. Like trying to win a lottery to get a flight off the island.
Farcical.
AGREED. What is going on? Why are we being constrained from traveling when, where, how and for any reason we want to?
I am the FIRST to support anything that makes sense but how does travel restrictions help anyone vaccinated if we are willing to adhere to the quarantine restrictions? I am considered a reasonable, educated person by anyone’s standards but this is beyond my comprehension.
I seriously want an answer, it is simply beyond my comprehension.
YES. I dont have a medical emergency nor do I have to go back to school. I havent seen my parents since summer of 2019 (and since lost my dad). I would like to see my mom again but cant fly off the island as there are no flights.
That’s why I want to fly away, but it doesnt really matter why. Even if you wanted a bit of a break in Miami after 16 months, that should be fine.
Stop this nonsense. I and many others will do the damn quarantine. Almost highest vaccination rate in the world (Im double vaccinated since March), very compliant society (we did the curfews, letter days at supermarkets, wore masks….and we stepped up for vaccinations). Fine if you want to slow play visitors, but for gods sake, stop limiting the ability for residents to travel.
Enough.
Go and stay away. Simple. Oh, wait, you want to come back to the very comforts and safety you are belittling us for protecting…. Hmmm…. Now who is being selfish???
You!
Have you tried Skype or WhatsApp?
I love it this way. I don’t have to see family for any longer than required.
It’s clear why there’s no demand from anyone to see you in person.
That’s your choice, not mine!
It is great that they added more flights, but what we need is an immediate return to the open skies agreement and restoration of daily flights.
Yes, Delta variant is here. That is why we quarantine incoming travelers. Just open the borders and get the government out of the travel agency business!
This doesn’t help people who need to go for medical care and can’t or don’t need to stay in USA for a month or longer. There are no seats available until September.
Or only need to make a quick Walmart trip.
What a damn joke.
Nope. A worthy and proportionate step by a responsible government.
Sure!
How is this reasonable or proportionate?
It provides a solution for those that need to travel, after their options were extinguished by many who simply want to travel.
It doesn’t matter why we want to travel. Just like it’s none of your goddamn business if we’re vaccinated and we’re quarantining on our own dime. Time to open the borders
Vaccination doesn’t save everyone!
Well those folks are doomed if they ever leave their house again.
two flights….do they block the middle seats outbound? that cuts it to like 70 people per flight…even if they don’t, still only a handful of people that will be able to leave this island.
Riddle me this. They cut out the middle seat on outgoing GCM-MIA flights but not on GCM-CYB flights. Explain.
Do you really need an explanation for that?
You don’t seem that stupid @5:58pm.
Dripping with sarcasm in this post 🙂