A Canadian flight crew detained in the Dominican Republic for more than two hundred days is expected to return home soon, Global News confirmed.
The crew of a Pivot Airlines flight was first arrested in early April, after the local government alleged drugs had been discovered at Punta Cana International Airport. However, the Mississauga, Ontario-based airline said the team itself had reported suspected drugs on board. your plane
However, after sharing their considerations with local authorities, the Pivot Airlines team was arrested, and the airline’s CEO said they have remained in the country ever since, living in fear, hiding from narco-criminals furious at the team’s resolve to count drug authorities.
“They’ve been in shelters where we continue to move them,” Pivot Airlines CEO Eric Edmondson said in an interview with Global News.
A month, he said, would be “a long stay” in the safe home, while “two or three weeks was the average stay in each place. “his loose movement. “
However, since Friday, the end of his ordeal seems to be in sight.
“Earlier today, documents were filed to free the five members of the Pivot team who were detained in the Dominican Republic for 220 days after reporting suspected smuggling on their aircraft,” reads a statement from Edmondson, sent to Global News on Friday.
“We are deeply relieved that those five Canadians will soon be returning home to their families and enjoyed them. “
Edmonson said he was “grateful” for the “courage, resilience and honesty” of the crew for the “devastating” ordeal.
“When they come to Canada, they will come as heroes,” he added.
Speaking to Global News in an interview Friday, Edmondson said he was “excited” when he heard the news.
However, he is not in a position to celebrate, as there are still “a fair amount of milestones to be reached”.
“You have to agree knowing you’ve been here, or very close to here, before. The only difference is that we have signatures on this document and it was returned to us by the court,” Edmondson said.
“So it’s a little more advanced than before, but I almost took this step two or 3 times to keep it flat. “
The resolution to send the team home is still awaiting final approval from the court, which will then launch a procedure to provide detained Canadians with documentation and government approvals to return home.
“There have been many delays and uncertainty in this case, and we urge the government of the Dominican Republic to initiate the procedure to release the team without delay,” Edmondson said.
“Because of this uncertainty and the very real possibility of unforeseen delays, we still have a timeline for the crew’s return. “
Even when they return home, Edmondson said, what the airline team endured “will replace them forever. “
“The team paid the final price. . . They lost their freedom. They have not lost their freedom, but they are being persecuted by the narco-criminals they have denounced,” Edmondson said.
“I mean, it’s a terrible, terrible scenario to live in. They lived worriedly even when they were at home. “
Pivot Airlines operates out of Toronto Pearson International Airport. In mid-June, it released a video asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for help.
In the video, a pilot for the team who knows himself as “Rob” said he discovered a “suspected smuggling” on his plane, which was bound for Canada.
Although he reported his considerations “immediately” to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Dominican authorities, the pilot said he punished him.
“The Dominicans put us in jail,” he said.
The team was first jailed before being released on bail.
In May, prosecutors in the Dominican Republic attempted to send the team back for up to 12 months, according to the Association of Airline Pilots (ALPA), a union representing the team.
A National Post report said prosecutors in the Dominican Republic alleged the plane was a drug trafficking façade, despite providing little genuine evidence.
Meanwhile, Pivot Airlines was forced into what it described as a “nightmare” situation.
“We have been threatened with death by drug criminals, extorted through detainees and we have lived in inhumane and humiliating conditions,” the pilot said.
Trudeau met with Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas on June 10, in the Prime Minister’s Office.
“The leaders identified the many ties between their countries in industry and investment, as well as in the tourism sector,” he said.
He also said Trudeau “raised the case for the Canadian national team in the Dominican Republic” and obtained “assurances that the government will deal with the matter in accordance with the rule of law. “
Trying to get the Canadian government’s commitment, Edmondson said, is a “very slow process,” despite the “huge” attendance of officials in the final push.
“They had the right words without action. . . Transport Canada wants to pay close attention to protecting the public flying between Canada and the Dominican Republic,” he said.
“They just want to have more teeth. “
According to Edmondson, someone from the Canadian embassy told the team it was “a shame” they weren’t Americans.
The executive director did not specify where the embassy to which Array refers is.
“Because if you were, it would have happened, and if you were, one day you would have left,” he told the crew.
Looking ahead, Edmondson said he was concerned about the message the Dominican government has sent to other airline crews who might face the decision to report or ignore illicit ingredients on their flights.
“The message that Dominicans were sending by sending our other people to jail for . . . Sounding the alarm about those narcotics is, for all other crews, not to look for narcotics. If you locate something, close your mouth. We’re going to put you in jail. You may never see your circle of family again,” he said.
“And it’s detrimental to the aviation community. “
– With Sean O’Shea of Global News, Isaac Callan