Round Trip Charter Flight To/From Azores Today
[Updated] There will be a round-trip charter flight between the Azores to Bermuda today [July 21], with the flight set to depart Bermuda this afternoon.
The Azores Airlines/SATA flight is scheduled to arrive in Bermuda at around noon, and then be boarded for the return trip, leaving Bermuda at 1.40pm.
While exact numbers are not available, it is suggested there are about 20 people coming in on the flight, and around 60 people leaving on the flight.
Check-in for the return flight from Bermuda will open three hours before its scheduled departure.
Screenshot from the FlightAware tracking website taken at around 9.30am:
Andrea Moniz-DeSouza, the Honorary Consul of Portugal, posted on social media confirming that the flight will take place today.
She also posted, “We have been receiving queries from Portuguese nationals who will be leaving Bermuda, in relation to their rights relating to payment of their repatriation flights, vacation pay never received and unpaid salaries.
“While there is not anything that we at the Consulate can do in relation forcing employers to act in any manner, and we can only assist in these matters by directing people to the appropriate Bermuda Government Department, I would urge employers to be fair and appropriately deal with these matters, especially as the last few months have been difficult to everyone. Thank you in advance.”
Update: The charter flight has arrived, photo courtesy of Skyport:
Let’s see how many locals rush to apply for these jobs. Let’s all be real here, locals do not want to do hard manual labor and if they do its only until something better comes along. Bermuda is no different from any other country in the world where you see foreigners working where natives dont want to. Its not about foreigners taking jobs, its about locals being prejudice towards foreigners. Real talk since everyone is trying to be ‘woke’.
I’ve seen so many posts that say Bermudians don’t want these jobs.
Have you seen the pay that some guest workers receive? Perhaps not. Guest workers come to the island without family and only have themselves to take care of here. If we think that a Bermudian with a family to take care of will accept $10 an hour, we’re not being real. After deductions, there is nothing left. How about those employers not giving Bermudians health insurance and other benefits until they complete their probation (which is illegal)?
To make matters worse, sometimes guest workers work 7 days a week (which is illegal by the way) are not given health insurance or other benefits (illegal), work way in excess of 40 hours per week on straight pay and get straight pay for working on public holidays. I think it is exploitation and these workers are scared to speak up for fear of being fired and having to leave the island. The employers of some guest workers hail from the same country of origin which begs the question, why would they exploit their own?
With this said, if we would just stop glossing over the real issue and admit that it just makes more business sense to hire a guest worker then businesses will have nothing else to hide behind. Bermudians know their rights and will not be exploited. Make these jobs more attractive and fair and Bermudians will take them.
Not sure if you’re aware of how owning business is hard in order to be successful. An employer cannot pay a high wage for some positions because of the high cost it will end up being on the customer which will then result in the business failing because of that high cost. You cant pay a landscaper, construction worker, pot washer, waiter etc $40 plus an hour, you simply cant. If anyone wants to earn that rate working in those sectors he/she should start their own business. Noone is here against their will. If there’s no overtime, workers complain cause they want to make extra money, then when overtime is offered there’s grumbling that they have lives and cant do it. Which one is it then?? And yes, its prejudice against foreigners because you don’t hear the outrage against a cashier’s wage or sales person or worker pumping gas because they’re locals. Those jobs pay a very low hourly wage, pretty sure lower than those I previously mentioned. Only those sectors which are majority held by permit holders are the ones that are always brought up.
I have seen this in Nova Scotia on farms n planting fields, many many West Indians.
Bermudians wouldn’t last 5 seconds working landscaping. This is why these landscaping companies gets Portuguese to come here and do it. I’ve seen it first hand when they come cut my landlords yard. Bermudians working SSSOOOO slow and hardly doing anything while the Portuguese are busting their a$$ off working.
Repatriation flight… ??!!!!
No one is being repatriated from Bermuda, some people that are on that flight are leaving on there own will, by the way, some people are going on vacation, a few work permit holder are leaving , and some seniors are returning home for good. Also the flight will be leaving with about 60 people only.
Thank you Mr.PLP
Bermydude, yes you are correct. There are some examples but it is also true that “some” government officials have an agenda and are using this as a convenient excuse to do some ethnic cleansing or sorts.
Lets talk the truth. There have been comments made by past and present government officials that go way beyond the Pro Bermuda Horn but have OPENLY suggested the promotion of “people that look like me”. We may all be Bermudian but we certainly don’t all “look alike”. So when a government official that is supposed to work for ALL of us, wants to give an unfair advantage to only those that look like him or her, there is a problem. Lets be clear I am not saying that Bermudians should ever be considered a second option or pushed aside. But dang, if you want us to believe that there isn’t more to this than a simple case of Bermudians first, I have a golden gate bridge to sell you.
Point is some work permits haven’t been renewed, stop using people for your convenience
Why are so many people banging heads with the Government , who bangs heads with one another and where does that get us ?
I have my thoughts but don’t need to be branded you know the childs play of “stick and stones”.
As in many sports we should not loose sight of the goal.
It appears that we can not jump over the many virtual hurdles created because it was not your idea.
Our politicaly manufactured internal conflicts devide a nation, we all have a part to play as a team with several common goals.
Single mindedness has no place in a progressive society.
Pitting brother against brother is a resipie for disaster.
Bermuda would be a desolate independant island if it were not for sea and air travel.
C19 has shown us the meaning of hardship it is not over unleaess we learn the meaning of sacrifice.
Bermuda is under a microscope of international oppinion.