EZjet refunds are only for tickets purchased in Guyana – Minister Benn

Failed low-cost airline EZjet allegedly owes the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) more than Gy$5.7 million, according to Transport Minister Robeson Benn, who also asserted that refunds will only be paid to passengers who bought their tickets in Guyana.
“Based on the time in which invoices are repaid and dealt with, there are amounts owed to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport of Gy$2.6 million and Guyana Civil Aviation Authority of Gy$3,185, 742,” Benn said.
Benn’s revelation came after he was grilled by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) parliamentarian Volda Lawrence, and Alliance For Change (AFC) leader Khemraj Ramjattan,  in Parliament on Monday. He said that EZjet currently has a bond of US$200,000 (Gy$4 million) with the government, and that money will be used to refund eligible passengers who booked with the airline in Guyana.
“EZjet representatives may have received some money and they are making refunds, but most of the refund would be made by bond,” he said.
Meanwhile, EZjet’s New York office has been closed after the entire staff walked off the job, while its Trinidad operation is also in limbo with the resignation of the manager. Acting Chief Executive Officer, Rosalinda Rasul, last week told reporters that the Canadian operation structure was still in place but was not responding.
Passengers have until January 14 to submit claims, and the ministry is looking to complete the payouts by the end of March. The transport minister told the House that some six to nine months of investigation was done on EZjet prior to the granting of a licence, based on its business plan and the fact that the U.S. and Canadian authorities had also approved licences for the airline.
The United States Department of Transportation suspended EZjet’s U.S. licence on the request of Swift Air; its licences to operate in Guyana and Canada were later cancelled by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority and Toronto Transportation Board respectively.  EZjet’s demise came after its former CEO and owner, Sonny Ramdeo was accused of stealing more than US$5 million from a hospital chain in the U.S.
Promise Healthcare and 11 of its hospitals sued Ramdeo, of PayServ Tax, in Palm Beach County Court, accusing him of stealing the money “through a sophisticated scheme of fraud and deception”.