(QCostarica) Once again, a group of Costa Ricans remain stranded out of the country due to problems in their flight plans gone wrong.
On Monday, a group of 43 members of a youth soccer team were stranded in the United States because their flight was turned back following the eruption of the Turrialba volcano. In the group are 26 children aged between 10 and 12, part of the team participating in a tournament in Minnesota.
According to team coach, Edson Soto, they were an hour from arriving in Costa Rican when the American Airlines pilot announced their return to Charlotte. “He said it was because of the volcano ash from the eruption,” said Soto.
Local television news, Telenoticias, says some of the parents of the of the children confirmed that they were now in Miami and waiting to return today (Tuesday).
On Sunday last week, a group of Costa Ricans were stranded when their Cubana Airlines flight could not leave Cuba, the group reporting by way of the social media saying there was a shortage of jet fuel on the island; the airline, in an official statement, said it was due to mechanical problems experienced with the aircraft. Tuesday afternoon they are back on Tico soil.
Flights Cancelled
On Monday, American Airlines cancelled two flights that would have landed at the San Jose airport and diverted a third to the Liberia airport, in Guanacaste. This was due to four eruptions of the Turrialba volcano: two Sunday night and two early Monday morning.
On Saturday, following a series of strong eruption Friday afternoon, hundreds of passengers were affected by the suspension of at least 16 flights by American and United Airlines between Costa Rica and the U.S., according to Ennio Cubillo, director of Civil Aviation.
Although the Turrialba volcano eruptions Friday (and Sunday and Monday) did not affect airport operations, the two airlines decided to take action in face of adverse climatic conditions.
Cubillo said the decision was a unilateral one by the airlines following a weather report detecting volcanic ash in the airspace.
Turrialba activity intensified on Friday, with at least three strong eruptions. During Saturday morning emanation of ash prevailed, but to a lesser extent, according to the statement by both the National Seismological Network (RSN) and by the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI)
