CJIA dismisses three staff for soliciting money from passengers

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 21:00 by GxMedia

Three employees were dismissed over the past two weeks from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) after they were found to be soliciting money from passengers while on duty, the airport said in a statement.

This is in keeping with the airport’s zero-tolerance approach to any such act, which only serves to tarnish the reputation of the Corporation and its Stakeholders.

Two of them were ground handling staff members who had obtained monies from passengers to help incoming passengers locate their bags on arrival. Demerara Waves Online News (www.demwaves.com) was told that the passengers had expected their baggage to be taken to vehicles but soon disagreements ensued when they realised that they had to pay the Red Caps to transport them from the Customs area to vehicles.

In another instance, a security officer demanded GUY$7,000 from a passenger after falsely informing that frozen seafood was not allowed to leave Guyana.

Chief Executive Officer of CJIA, Ramesh Ghir said that under CJIA’s rulebook, stealing and soliciting passengers for money are serious offences.

“It is my hope that others, who are tempted to bend the rules will see that we mean business. CJIA will not condone such gross dishonesty,” he declared.

Against this backdrop, passengers are being urged to demand receipts for payments made at check-in, and encouraged to report all requests for money or bribery by staff of the airport.

Further, passengers should also note that there is no additional charge for carrying frozen or cooked foods in their baggage, unless they are overweight.

CJIA is advising passengers to report any misconduct of its staff to the Supervisors or Managers of the respective Airlines or the Airport Duty Office (ADO) on telephone numbers 592-261-2261/600-7022.

Meanwhile, Caribbean Airlines Airport Manager, Carl Stuart, commended CJIA’s management for taking such action. “Actually we support and respect any initiative put in place to improve the customer experience.”

He added that CAL has a strict policy for monetary transactions. There is a designated agent for that purpose, and signages advising passengers to collect receipts are visible.

Apart from the ticketing desk, the Departure Tax Office, Red Cap Porters and Secure Wrapping Service are the only other channels where money should be exchanged.