Pivot Airlines is discouraging Canadians from traveling to the Dominican Republic as three airline unions call on Ottawa to help return home crew members detained on a cocaine alert for cocaine found on their plane.
The Canadian airline, along with Unifor, the Canadian Civil Servants Union (CUPE) and the Airlines Pilots Association (ALPA), wrote a letter to the Canadian parliamentary secretary to the foreign minister on Tuesday ahead of his planned visit to the Dominican Republic. republic.
The groups are calling on the federal government to intervene in the nearly three-week detention of 11 people, including five Ontario crew members who, according to the airline, were recently released on bail.
Five members of the Pivot Airlines crew found and reported 200 packages of cocaine on a plane traveling to Toronto while on the ground at Punta Cana Airport on April 5.
After an in-depth search, the Dominican Republic’s National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) said approximately 200kg of cocaine had been found in the plane’s control rooms.
“Although they reported the alleged smuggling to the authorities, the five members of the Pivot crew were immediately detained in the Dominican Republic, where they were subjected to dangerous and inhuman treatment during the Dominican arrests,” the letter said.
“While we recently managed to secure the release of the crew on bail, the condition for their release was that they remain in the Dominican Republic until the issue is resolved,” the letter said.
Pivot Airlines told CTV News Toronto that the detained crew members face threats both inside and outside the prison. As a result, they are proposing that passengers refrain from visiting the Dominican Republic at present.
“We believe that this incident should make all passengers consider creating alternative travel plans,” said a Pivot Airlines spokesman.
“We are doing everything we can to support our crew and their families during this difficult time. This includes continuing to work with the local legal advisers we have hired on their behalf, the three international unions representing our crew, the Canadian embassy and local authorities to ensure their safety and bring them home as soon as possible.
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