Blue Wing Airlines refuses to fly unknown passengers

Blue Wing Airlines on Friday refused to fly a group of passengers from Benzdorp to Paramaribo because they refused to tell the pilot from which village they were. Amichand Jhauw, CEO at Blue Wing Airlines, pointed out that six to eight people wanted to catch a flight from East Suriname to the capital. One of the measures aimed at preventing the spread of COVID19 makes it mandatory for people who want to catch a flight from the hinterland to the city to reveal where they come from. The Surinamese government and the National COVID19 Management Team have repeatedly expressed their concern regarding the borders in the eastern part of Suriname due to the illegal crossings of people from neighboring French Guiana to Suriname. French Guiana has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus. At the end of April there were 12 COVID19 cases in the French village of Grand Santi that is located near the border with Suriname. The government therefore decided to impose a lockdown the rivers that separate Suriname from its neighboring countries. President Desi Bouterse allowed local flights to resume because of Election Day, May 25. Travelers are expected to comply with the COVID19 measures.