Cricket World Cup Opened Unprecedented Cooperation Level among Airlines

An airline executive praised Caribbean airlines for helping to make the Cricket World Cup a success. Airlines from the Caribbean were given the opportunity to shine during the Cricket World Cup.

According to the coordinator of the regional airline task force for the international competition, Richard Lue, one of the legacies of the ICC Cricket World Cup, which ended with the final in Barbados last month, was the unprecedented level of cooperation between the Caribbean region’s carriers.

Mr. Lue, who is Air Jamaica’s director of Special Projects, said that Air Jamaica, Caribbean Airlines and LIAT rose to the challenge to move the teams, officials, media and sponsors (TOMS) between the nine Caribbean countries that hosted the competition.

“Collectively we completed 90 different segments and moved 5,000 pieces of luggage to ensure that the competition ran smoothly. Everybody got where they needed to be,” said Mr. Lue, adding that the air transportation systems and the smooth movement of people were positive highlights of the 2007 tournament.

According to Mr. Lue, Air Jamaica moved close to 6,000 passengers, including fans and supporters, from the Super Eight stage of the tournament to the final at Kensington Oval in Barbados, adding a total of 11 extra flights between Barbados, Jamaica and St. Lucia for the semifinals and finals.

He added that Air Jamaica also flew Indian groups traveling via London to Jamaica, New Zealanders via Los Angeles, South Africans via New York and Australians and Sri Lanka’s players and fans from Jamaica to the Eastern Caribbean. “The flights went very well and we are very happy with our performance during the competition,” he said.