The mess that has been travel on BahamasAir over the last 48 hours is expected to start clearing up Wednesday evening as pilots have returned to work after a mass sick-out that started Monday.
Van Diah, Deputy General Manager of BahamasAir, told NBC 6 that the company “contracted another airline to augment its services, doubling it’s (sic) capacity out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale to ensure that all passengers are at their destination by the, the latest, 10 p.m.”
The airline said the pilot’s sick-out put the company out of operation for two days and the pilots returned to work Wednesday at 5 a.m. The company said it normally operates four flights to the Bahamas from both Fort Lauderdale and Miami International Airport, but has doubled the flights on Christmas Eve.
Still, as of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, only one additional chartered flight had taken off.
The cancelled and delayed flights wreaked havoc on passengers at both airports. Some travelers waited for more than 10 hours for a flight, while others camped out hoping to get a flight.
“Well, I understand the pilots are on strike,” passenger Daire Ferguson. “The pilots, every government industry right now, I think they need to be a little more professional the way they deal with these people because everyone is under pressure.”
BahamasAir said that it considered the pilots’ actions “unreasonable and unwarranted.” NBC 6’s Willard Shepard tried to contact the pilots union for a comment, but was unable to reach them.
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“We are supposed to get home today, hopefully,” said Myrtis Adderley. “My grandkids, they want to spend Christmas with Grandma.”
