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Klaus Martin, Managing Director of USC Airline Charter
By Nakinskie Robinson/Prince Moore
The government has moved to clarify the controversy surrounding the charter flight that landed at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston on Thursday.
The flight included 253 passengers, including crew members.
In a statement Monday afternoon, the Ministry of National Security says the foreigners are currently at Norman Manley International Airport, awaiting the finalisation of arrangements for their departure.
On the matter of their stay at the ROK Hotel in downtown Kingston, the Ministry says given the duration of the flight and civil aviation regulations for the minimum rest period, before clearance is given to safely operate, it was deemed impractical to detain the passengers in the aircraft or at the airport.
It further adds that the travellers and airline crew members were allowed to leave the airport on humanitarian grounds, under guard.
However, Radio Jamaica News saw several of the passengers moving freely around downtown Kingston on the weekend.
The Ministry emphasises that this form of supervised release is in keeping with the provisions of the Immigration Restriction (Commonwealth Citizens) Act and Aliens Act.
The Ministry says accommodation and return costs will solely be the responsibility of USC GmbH, the charter company.
Meanwhile, the government says the flight was allowed to land in Jamaica, having received the requisite approvals for operation from the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority.
It says despite having arrangements in place for accommodation and departure from Jamaica, the passengers were refused entry by immigration officials, based on security concerns uncovered during their processing at the airport.
The Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) and the Jamaica Constabulary Force ( JCF) have been leading the operational response since their arrival.
In this instance, while the Ministry was alerted to the operation of the flight based on what appeared to be anomalies and missing details from its initial permit application, the necessary supporting documents were later supplied to satisfy the requirements for obtaining a permit to operate to Jamaica.
Notwithstanding, the Ministry continued to consult with law enforcement while the flight received clearance to operate, and the immigration authorities undertook pre-screening activities, as per standard operating procedures.
Upon landing in Jamaica, it was discovered that there were two passengers on the flight that did not appear on the submitted passenger manifest.
This led to further investigations by PICA which prompted the decision not to grant the passengers leave to land in Jamaica.
Fully compliant
The Managing Director of USC Airline Charter company, Klaus Martin, has accused Jamaican authorities of breaching international law by impounding the plane on the tarmac at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.
It was detained while the authorities carry out an investigation into a suspected human trafficking operation.
But Mr. Martin said he is not aware of any trafficking.
He told Radio Jamaica News that no information has been forthcoming from Jamaican authorities about the reasons for preventing the flight from leaving.
"The citizens we had on board do not require a visa for Jamaica. We brought them there in good intentions and also to take them up in good intention that was then refused," he said, calling it unacceptable that there has been no explanation for the delay.
Mr. Martin said a flight manifest was sent in advance to Jamaica.
Noting that the plane's itinerary has been upended, he said the airline is suffering major losses as a result of it being detained in Jamaica.
USC Charter is registered in Germany and operates out of Frankfurt.
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