Dominica: Almost 50 Dominicans residing in St Thomas heading to enjoy the carnival in Dominica were left stranded at the Cyril King International airport on St Thomas on February 13, 2023, according to the post by local news channel Dominica Breaking News.
The passengers spent hours at the airport waiting on LIAT to arrive and had no choice but to return home because LIAT never showed up. They were given no guarantee when they would be leaving St Thomas for Dominica.
As of this morning, LIAT agents at the airport in St Thomas could not give the stranded passengers any confirmation as to when the next flight is scheduled to leave St Thomas.
The passengers are faced with all kinds of frustrations as some of them had other business to attend to other than enjoying the carnival events.
Former calypso king Andrew “Scrunter” Bazil is one of the stranded passengers. He told me he made contact with LIAT in Antigua and was told that the airline has a problem with its ground crew, as many have reported sick.
LIAT has only one flight out of St Thomas per week and operates with a skeleton crew which is also contracted to service other airlines. Since LIAT only fly out of St. Thomas on a Sunday and is presently affected by a crew shortage, it is yet to confirm a departure day for the stranded passengers.
Presently, LIAT is the only air carrier doing a direct flight out of St Thomas to Dominica. Since Air Sunshine closed shop, people residing on St Thomas have been faced with difficulty traveling down Island.
Many are forced to book flights that take them through Puerto Rico or St Martin before arriving in Dominica. In some instances, they have to overnight at their own expense, either in Puerto Rico or St Marten and arrive home with pieces of their luggage missing.
