The Ministry of Sport has given its word that it will foot the additional costs incurred by the TT Under-21 men’s hockey team and its support staff, who are stranded in Chile.
The 23-member contingent is being accommodated at UGO Hotel until their flights can be rescheduled.
The group, who recently competed at the Pan Am Hockey Championships in Santiago, Chile, were ordered to disembark from their Copa Airlines flight to Panama on Tuesday. TT authorities told airline officials they would not accept the team’s covid19 PCR test reports written in Spanish.
Ironically, three days earlier, the women's team returned home smoothly with documents in Spanish.
Initially, the men’s team was scheduled to leave Chile at 12.05pm on Tuesday en route to Panama. From Panama, they were expected to depart at 9.10 pm and arrive at Piarco at 1.18 am on Wednesday.
After their removal from the flight, the team was housed at the UGO Hotel and will remain there until a newflight to Panama is confirmed.
TT Hockey Board (TTHB) president Douglas Camacho said the next two flights to Panama are on Saturday and Tuesday. The first, however, cannot seat the entire national team, while Tuesday’s has the seating capacity for the full contingent.
A stay at the hotel until Tuesday, for such a large group, may amount to approximately US$15,000-$20,000, said Camacho.
Speaking to Newsday, Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe said, “Whatever expenses are incurred, and once the request is made to the Sport Company of TT (SporTT), we are going to be prepared to face the Cabinet and make the necessary decisions to provide the support.
“They are a national team out there representing us. Who else to support them than us? We have to do what we have to do. When the request comes and we know the amount, we will put things in gear to do what’s necessary to provide the support.”
Camacho, who is also SporTT chairman, lauded the efforts of Cudjoe’s ministry, which he said, had been very concerned and willing to finance the options to house the team and bring them safely back to Trinidad.
Additionally, the sport ministry and Camacho have also contacted Caribbean Airlines (CAL) to ascertain if they would be able to get a chartered flight out of Panama before Tuesday.
The TTHB president remains hopeful the airline can find an aircraft and pilot to get them from Panama to Trinidad.
“If CAL could get the charter on, we would be able to get our people to Panama for them to make the pickup. There are multiple flights from Chile to Panama. But we must ensure when we get there, our journey home is already confirmed.
“The challenge, of course, is how many (CAL) aircraft are available, how many are assigned to this route and making sure they have pilots who are available. It’s a lot of logistical things they need to sort out. But CAL is looking to see how they can assist and how soon,” he said.
Cudjoe added that the board was also exploring the option of bringing home some members on Saturday’s flight and the remainder on Tu
