-300 employees at various ports have already been given letters of dismissal
Although local representative of Dynamic International Airways, Captain Gerry Gouveia is of the belief that a meeting in the new week with the executives of the airline will determine the way forward, the airline’s last flight to Guyana will be Monday, October 2, 2017.
This was not only related to staff members but also passengers who have already booked with the airline to travel.
Passengers who are booked with Dynamic Airways beyond October 2 will be shuttled to their destinations by other airlines based on an agreement. This publication understands that hundreds of passengers are booked to travel with the airline in the upcoming Christmas season, but those passengers were asked to contact their travel agents to make the necessary adjustments.
As a result of the decision to pull the plug on the service provided by the airline, a number of staff will be laid off. Presently, more than 300 employees at various ports have already been given letters of dismissal.
In Guyana’s case, this publication was told that those employees who were hired to work primarily with the airline could be affected in some way. This, however, will not in any way affect those workers who are employed with Roraima Airways, since the company will still operate its handling service at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
Moreover, the company operates its executive lounge, but it is not quite sure if those employees will be affected.
Dynamic’s pullout from the Guyanese market is a direct result of the airline filing for bankruptcy. In July, the charter company filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition with the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Middle District of North Carolina. In this case, Chapter 11 allows a debtor to propose a plan of reorganisation to keep its business alive and pay creditors over time.
Dynamic Airways initially stated that the decision to seek protection from the court against its creditors was as a result of it being riddled with litigation.
These include the lawsuits relating to Hajj flights that Dynamic operated in 2014 for Air India and the recent arbitration award against Dynamic International by the Canadian Arbitration Association in April 2017, which determined that the US-based airline was in breach of contract by failing to pay commissions to BKP Enterprises in connection with the Hajj flights.
Dynamic added that while it has filed a notice of appeal and intends to challenge the judgment and award, it has no immediate recourse to stay the judgment, but has determined the commencement of the Chapter 11 case is necessary.
In its three years of operations in Guyana, Dynamic Airways has been faced with heavy criticisms, given a long list of disruptions in flights which left passengers stranded for hours both at the CJIA and John F Kennedy (JFK) Airport as a result of delays.
