Suriname 70 packed, waiting to fly home as permission granted

ALL bags are packed and a group of men from TT in Suriname, now numbering 70, are just waiting to come home on Friday morning.

They have received final approval from National Security Minister Stuart Young for the plane to land at the Piarco airport.

Some of the wives and families of the oil and gas workers, who have been on lockdown in Suriname for the past six weeks, have said they plan to be present when the charter flight, PY729, arrives at Piarco Airport at 10.30 am.

However, they may not be allowed to see their loved ones, as all 70 will be whisked away to the UWI south campus at Penal/Debe for testing and quarantine.

Although none of the men have shown any symptoms of covid19, Rishi Ramkissoon told the Newsday that 15 men who had been stuck offshore on rigs came in on Thursday to catch the flight.

“Everyone is packed and waiting to board,” Ramkissoon said.

One of their employers, Damian Ramesar, commended Ramkissoon who chartered the plane from Surinam Airways to get the men home.

“Rishi has spoken to me as a fellow employer. I don’t really know him, but he has been working incessantly on the Trinis' behalf, often accompanying people to the consulate and making sure all the guys had food, etc.”

The men, who went to Suriname to work, were trapped there for almost six weeks as the covid19 pandemic caused the closure of borders, preventing their return.

Ramesar said all seven of his workers had valid return tickets and would have been on the next flight out once the projects closed, if the borders had remained open.

Those tickets are not valid for the charter flight, which is being done by SLM at a cost of US$25,000.