St Vincent Gov't denies US-based airline from landing with stranded nationals

KINGSTOWN, ST. Vincent. Apr 29, CMC – The St. Vincent and the Grenadines government has denied a US-based airline permission to land, dashing hopes that an estimated 300 nationals employed with a US-based cruise line, would have arrived here on Thursday.

The sailors, employed with the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. have already spent several weeks in isolation aboard cruise ships amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19 pandemic).

They are now expected to sail home, rather than fly, and it will be weeks before they set sail, the cruise line has said.

Prime Minister Gonsalves, speaking on a radio programme here, said that his government would not permit the Miami airline to land two planes carrying the sailors because Kingstown had no information about their health status.

The government here has been in negotiations with Royal Caribbean to get the company to pay for 14 days’ quarantine of each sailor estimated at EC$150 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) per night.

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