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Police: ‘No one allowed to threaten airport operations’
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Aug 21, 2007 14:28 UTC
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~ Say Delta passengers treated cordially
PHILIPSBURG - Police have reacted sharply to allegations by 47 Delta Airline passengers left stranded at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) on Sunday, saying, “Security at PJIA is essential for the protection of the island’s primary industry, tourism, and as such any threat to hamper it will be taken seriously.”
The passengers, who were headed to Martinique when the final leg of their trip was cancelled, have alleged harsh treatment by police who pushed them and spoke loudly to them.
Police said Monday that if the group of passengers had stayed in the area where Airport Immigration clears arriving passengers, there would have been chaos, as KLM and Insel Air combined had nearly 450 passengers who were about to land.
Police spokesman Chief Inspector Johan “Janchi” Leonard said Monday, “At no time during police intervention with the passengers was any aggression used by our officers who, for nearly an hour, spoke to and listened to the passengers in a bid to find an amicable solution to their problem, while keeping in mind the need to ensure that the airport operation was not hampered.”
Leonard said, “If anyone knows the pain hurricane damage causes to those who lose their personal belongings, St. Maarten residents and police do, and as such we were very cordial with the passengers.”
The passengers were told that they could not resolve their issues at the arrival terminal, where there was no Delta counter, and police on the scene recommended that they go to the Departure Hall where they would find Delta agents. From there, they would be able to voice their concerns to the appropriate persons without hampering the normal operations at the airport.
He said, “They were at that time staying inside the arrival terminal, in the area where arriving passengers are checked in by Immigration, in hopes of resolving their issues with Delta.”
Leonard explained that the police had been called in to calm a hostile situation involving the passengers. He said, “We were called in by the Immigration Department at Princess Juliana International Airport and the security at PJIA, and we responded with a large force in anticipation of opposition.”
Leonard said that on arrival, Chief Inspector John had taken charge of the situation and had spoken to a woman whom the passengers had designated as spokesperson, as she spoke both English and French, while the others spoke mainly French.
Leonard said, “At that time, the transit area was already closed off by the airport security and the passengers were already outside the in-transit section.” Leonard said the passengers had been told they were standing in an area that would interfere with airport operations and therefore they would have to move.
He said this had drawn sharp, harsh and derogatory comments from the group in English, for the benefit of the officers on the scene, and while this hostility from the passengers had made the police’s task difficult, they had persevered and had given the passengers the benefit of the doubt, considering they had been left stranded.
Leonard said the police had also been informed by Delta representatives that the passengers had been given the option of staying in Atlanta, where their flight had originated, and finding alternative means of getting to Martinique, or flying to St. Maarten where they would be on their own for the rest of their journey home.
Regarding the specific allegations of aggressive behaviour by a female officer, Leonard said, “The sunshades of a female officer fell and were subsequently picked up by a female passenger who refused to return them. The officer asked the woman to return the shades to her and then when she tried to take the shades, the woman threw herself to the ground and started screaming, ‘You hit me, you hit me!’”
Leonard said, “It must be clear that we used every practical means to get the group to understand that, while we are sympathetic with their issue, police have to concern themselves with the general interest and security of all and, as such, they were not allowed to remain in the arrival terminal. Eventually, they moved on their own when, at a certain moment, a man spoke in French and everyone suddenly started heading out of the arrival terminal.”
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