Canadian airline crew detained in Dominican Republic since April back in Canada | 24CA News
A Canadian passenger airline crew detained within the Dominican Republic since April has arrived again in Canada.
The five-person crew landed in Toronto Thursday night, in accordance with Pivot Airlines.
“While we are relieved for the crew’s long overdue return, we know that this incident has taken a heavy toll on their lives, and the lives of their families,” mentioned airline CEO Eric Edmondson in a press release. “For that reason, we are asking media and the public to respect their privacy at this time.”
The ordeal started in early April of this yr, when the five-person crew of a Pivot Airlines flight from Calgary to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, discovered a wierd bag aboard the plane and reported it to authorities.
More luggage had been subsequently found, and native police say they finally discovered greater than 200 kilograms of cocaine aboard the jet.
‘Living a nightmare’
It’s not solely clear what occurred.
The two pilots, two flight attendants and one part-time upkeep engineer had been jailed, then later launched on bail after surrendering their passports pending additional investigation.
Following the cocaine discovery, the Air Line Pilots Association, the Canadian Union of Public Employees and Unifor mentioned their members had been arbitrarily detained, threatened and prosecuted regardless of following Transport Canada protocols and worldwide legal guidelines.
In June, one of many pilots, Captain Robert Di Venanzo, informed 24CA News that he and the opposite pilot, two flight attendants and a upkeep engineer, had been “living a nightmare” after they did what they thought was the precise factor by reporting the medication to the authorities.
“We thought we were heroes, what we found and what we reported,” he mentioned on the time. “We thought we did an amazing thing by not allowing these things to come back to Canada.”
Five Canadian crew are on bail after reporting a suspicious bag within the stomach of the Pivot Airlines airplane
While in jail, Di Venanzo mentioned, they had been informed they’d be killed.
“We’ve been threatened with death by narco criminals, extorted by inmates, and have lived in inhumane and humiliating conditions,” he mentioned in a video posted on-line together with his crew final week begging the Canadian authorities for assist.
“In prison, a dead body was placed outside our cell and we were told we would be next. We are living a nightmare.”
In his assertion Thursday, Edmondson mentioned he was grateful to everybody who labored to get the 5 dwelling, “including CUPE, ALPA, Unifor, Senator David Wells, as well as our government partners.”
He mentioned all have been reunited with their family members.
“The crew has demonstrated incredible courage and resilience throughout the harrowing ordeal which saw them wrongly detained in the Dominican Republic for nearly eight months. Their steadfast commitment to public safety and the rule of law is a testament to the professionalism of all Canadian air crew.”
The airline has employed Navigator, a well-known PR company and disaster administration agency in Ottawa, to work on their behalf.
