SANTO DOMINGO.– The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, criticized the airline JetBlue for its behavior and “abuses” against Dominicans who travel with this company.
Pacheco recounted his experience with the airline during a commercial flight to Puerto Rico last Saturday, and how he observed that they only committed abuses against Dominicans, so he asked the Dominican Government to cancel their license.
“They are abusers, the way they treat Dominicans is appalling,” Pacheco began his story, continuing that he had to attend an event in Puerto Rico, they sent him a ticket with a flight for 2:00 in the afternoon and it wasn't until 5:30 that the plane took off.
He said that prior to his late departure, the airline changed the departure gate five times, the plane was in "very bad condition", the treatment was "horrible" and the employees did not speak Spanish.
“They treated us like goats, like cattle, with tremendous discourtesy towards the passengers,” he emphasized.
However, the situation wasn't just on the outbound journey, as on the return trip Pacheco commented that he had another problem, since when he arrived at the airport at first there was no online registration and when he tried to do it manually he and a group of Dominicans were told that the flight had been canceled.
According to him, the airline, instead of seeking a solution together, gave each passenger a different date to arrive in the Dominican Republic, but in Pacheco's case they made an "exception" by giving him a flight for Tuesday at 6:50 in the morning.
“In the end, we found a solution after talking with an institution in the country, which very kindly arranged a flight for several people, since the Legal Advisor to the Executive Branch, someone with the last name Grullón, a Estrella, and high-ranking military personnel were also waiting at the airport… in the end, we arrived in the country at 2:00 in the morning thanks to that institution,” Pacheco commented.
In response to what happened, Pacheco reacted against the airline and made a public request to the Dominican government.
“I recommend that the Dominican government revoke JetBlue’s license because of what’s happening to Dominicans. After six or seven hours of research, I realized the problem is with the Dominican Republic. A large number of Dominicans are suffering, and you’ve heard about it, and I have too, but only now that I’m experiencing it firsthand am I realizing what’s happening with this airline,” Pacheco stated.
Lawmakers endorsed “abuses”
In addition to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, several overseas legislators agreed with Pacheco's statement and called for sanctions against the airline.
Representatives Norberto Rodríguez, Ramón Ceballos, and Adelis Olivares commented that they too were victims of problems with the JetBlue company and that thousands of Dominicans go through the same difficulties with the company.
Source: Listín Diario
