By Pauline Kayes (BonaireTalker - Post #60) on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 12:03 pm: |
To add to the air travel woes to and from Bonaire, a new problem has arisen. On my Friday (Nov. 18) AE flight from San Juan, everything was going too smoothly and timely. One hour into the flight, around 7:30 p.m., the pilot says we must turn back to San Juan because the person in the airport tower has become "incapacitated" and there is no one to replace him/her. So here we are stuck at the deserted San Juan airport waiting for a new crew (ours had "expired") and for news of an operable tower. Finally we left at 10:30 p.m. and we are almost there when the pilot said "hopefully the tower will be operable and we will be able to land." Talk about stress!!! Finally arrived at 12:30 a.m. and there are all these rumors about a strike by the controllers who had not been paid in awhile because of Curacao. Whatver the reason, such a complication makes tourists think twice about returning and rolling the dice on air traffic control on bonaire. What can be done should be before it happens again and again.
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By Glen Reem (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2226) on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 3:13 pm: |
Today's issue of the Sint Maarten Daily Herald has 2 items that touch on this at http://www.thedailyherald.com/ (the Editorial and first article). The problems with the hospital and this one with the airport have prompted the Bonaire representatives to the Antilles Cabinet to withdraw from the 'ruling coalition', causing the 'government to fall'.
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By Ginny Stokes (BonaireTalker - Post #29) on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 5:10 pm: |
This makes me wonder if the flight attendant calling in sick for the AE flight from Bonaire on Nov 12 was some sort of demonstration/work stoppage rather than an illness? He/she cost AE a ton of money in meal & hotel vouchers, as well as flight vouchers in some cases.
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By Menno de Bree (BonaireTalker - Post #37) on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 5:25 pm: |
It seems that not only the tower is "fooling around" with AE. The ground staff put's in their 2 cents once in a while too.
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By Glen Reem (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2227) on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 6:43 pm: |
Don't forget that the AE flight attendant is an AE employee and very likely not an Antilles citizen. The air controllers and ground personnel are Antilles government employees (Central for the ac's, don't know about the airport).
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By Menno de Bree (BonaireTalker - Post #38) on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 7:06 pm: |
I still wonder why with an arrival of AE it takes so d..... long for the luggage to arrive. When KLM and AJ arrive at almost the same time and much, much more people are coming "in" it's all "done" within 30 to 35 minutes ......
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By Glen Reem (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2228) on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 8:50 pm: |
Good question! Small plane, too.
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