By Sue-Ann Wayow
TRINIDAD and Tobago nationals attempting to return home from Barbados are being kept back for several days because of a glitch in TTravel Pass website.
One national said he was supposed to return with his wife and son on Monday but because the online web portal was not working, he could not upload his PCR test and therefore was not able to board his Caribbean Airlines flight.
The national from Chaguanas said his family was not the only one affected by the TTravel Pass system which although is up was still malfunctioning.
He called on Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds to intervene and make an announcement to the public concerning the website’s issues while attempting to have it solved or allow for the manual submission of the documents upon arrival.
He told AZPNews.com on Wednesday that he was not be able to complete the online form unless there was the results of the latest valid PCR test in hand, causing great inconvenience and added stress.
PCR tests are to be conducted 72 hours before the flight.
He said, “In this case now, we now have to go to Caribbean Airlines tomorrow and hope that we get on to standby.
“We are told that the flights are already over 25% overbooked. There is very little chance that we will actually get on to those flights unless they assign some priority to the people who are stranded and waiting here.
“If we can’t get on tomorrow – Thursday, then the next flight out of Barbados is on Saturday which means that our second set of PCR which we just took for this Thursday flight will no longer be valid.
“We have to go back and get a third set of PCRs done, wait 24 hours for the results to come back, then try again with the website hoping that the websites works and is functioning well, then go on Saturday and hopes that Caribbean Airlines can take us on standby and they are not overbooked again and it keeps going and going like that.”
Another person said he had the same issue on Sunday with his wife and a group of aged persons coming in from Canada where, after spending four hours at the airport they were not allowed to board, he added.
On Monday, when Caribbean Airlines agent in Barbados was approached and asked to call the Immigration Division for further information, he said the agent refused to call saying “The Immigration Division will call us.”
He said, “I see this whole thing being a disaster tomorrow if it is not sorted out today.”
Caribbean Airlines head of Corporate Communications Dionne Ligoure told AZPNews.com, “The TTravel Pass system is managed by the Ministry of National Security, so all queries can be re-directed to the ministry. At this time we have no reports to the airline re: a “glitch”.”
AZPNews.com attempted to get a comment from the ministry and was told a response will be sent subsequently.
