CanJet praises crew of hijacked flight
By DAN ARSENAULT and PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG Staff Reporters
Mon. Apr 20 - 11:14 AM
A CanJet executive lauded the efforts of the crew on board a plane that was hijacked late Sunday night in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
"I'd like to praise the professionalism and bravery of our crew who, while trained to deal with this serious incident, would have hoped never to dealt with this reality," Kent Woodside, vice-president and general manager of CanJet, told reporters after the gunman's arrest.
Eight crew members — Capt. James Murphy, flight attendants Heidi Tofflemire and Nicole Rogers and air care security officer Garry Knickle, all of Halifax, along with First officer Glenn Johnson, of Montreal, and flight attendants Anu Goswami; Tony Bettencourt, Carolina Santizo Arriola, all from the Toronto region — were on board CanJet flight 918 when a lone gunman hijacked the plane in Jamaica on Sunday night.
The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 174 Canadian passengers and was destined for Halifax, after a stopover in Santa Clara, Cuba, to drop off vacationers.
The passengers and two crew members were released early this morning, but six crew members remained on board with the gunman until he was arrested by Jamaican authorities this morning.
The crew are getting medical attention as a precaution, but they were all unharmed, Mr. Woodside said.
"We are extremely concerned for the well-being of everyone involved in this incident and our priority now is to provide comfort and support to the passengers and crew who were involved in this ordeal," Mr. Woodside said at the 10 a.m. news conference.
Another CanJet plane had just left Montreal for Toronto, he said, to pick up additional crew to fly to Montego Bay this afternoon.
That plane will pick up the affected passengers, continue to Cuba and drop off those who want to begin their vacations and bring the remainder home to Halifax. When exactly they will return has not yet been determined.
Mr. Woodside said CanJet is working with Jamaican authorities to uncover the security breach.