Heart FM Announcer Stranded in Jamaica

It’s a honeymoon Jeff and Amanda Cain will never forget.

NEGRIL – One of our own has found himself stuck in the middle of two of the biggest national news stories right now.

Heart FM weekend announcer Jeff Cain is stranded in Negril, Jamaica with his wife Amanda due to the recent WestJet mechanics strike. The tropical island is also about to be hit by Hurricane Beryl, a Category 4 storm that has killed at least six people.

Jeff and Amanda got married on June 22nd and flew to the Caribbean for their honeymoon on June 24th. Their plane home was supposed to leave Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay at 12:45 p.m. on Monday July 1st, and land at Toronto Pearson International Airport at 6:00 p.m. that day.

Jeff says they got an e-mail from WestJet on the morning of Sunday June 30th, informing them that their flight had been cancelled. 

Unionized mechanics with the airline had walked off the job Friday evening, but the strike came to an end after a tentative agreement was reached late Sunday night. WestJet issued a statement afterward, saying it would take time to resume all of its flight operations because it had planes parked at 13 airports across the country when the strike hit.

WestJet had informed Jeff and Amanda that they would be paid $300 for each extra night they had to stay in Jamaica, to help cover the cost of their stay at their resort. However, Jeff says it’s costing them $497 per night.

“It’s an extra couple hundred dollars out of pocket that we have had to come up with. Now we won’t be compensated until we speak with WestJet, and I’m assuming it’s probably not going to be quick to get our money back.”

With Hurricane Beryl approaching, the Cains tried to find another way to get off the island but were unsuccessful. WestJet had booked them on a flight to leave at 12:45 p.m. today, but Cain says the resort staff warned them that it wasn’t going to happen.

“A couple of days ago, after they told us that we’re getting out of here Wednesday, we had talked to the people at the front desk and asked them what the likeliness of us getting out of here on Wednesday was. The three people at the front desk had basically looked at each other and just laughed, so the locals knew we were stuck here. They have obviously been through it and it’s not their first rodeo.”

Sangster International Airport closed at midnight this morning. 

Jeff says their resort is preparing for the storm, with the maintenance crews cutting up trees, boarding up windows, and putting away furniture. He says a Hurricane Crisis Meeting was also held for all of the guests.

“They called a meeting so everyone at the resort met at the Disco/Piano Bar. The General Manager of the resort went over the protocol with how we we are going to eat, how they plan on providing us with drinking water, what happens if the power goes out, whether or not internet service is still going to be available, and took some open questions at the end that anyone had asked.”

Jeff says the airport in Montego Bay is their only way off the island. With the damage Hurricane Beryl could bring, it’s unclear when they will be able to return home.

“It’s a 90-minute drive from the airport. A lot of people are saying that what tends to happen when these storms come, is the roads get flooded and it could take a few days for the flooding to go away for us to be able to drive across that area. There were times in the past when they had to bring little planes in just to get people to the airport. So we’re not sure right now, some people have said it could be up to next Wednesday and others are saying we could be home by the weekend. It’s just a waiting game right now and we’re waiting to hear from WestJet or Trip Central.”

The Cains are currently bracing for the storm, and we’re wishing them all of the best on their journey home.