MONTEGO BAY — With the Sangster International Airport a virtual ghost town and the flow of passengers dried up as a result of the Federal Aviation Administration not allowing foreign airlines in or out of the USA, ground transportation operators here are among those already hurting from Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on America.

On a normal day, JUTA and JCAL drivers would converge on the arrivals section of the airport, hustling to get passengers. On Thursday, only a handful of them were at work. And as they have done for the past two days, they just sat and talked to pass the time.

“There’s nothing going on from Tuesday, nothing, we not making any money right now, it’s very bad,” said JCAL driver, Kitson Evans. “And, you know, some of us have mortgage to pay on our bus, but no other alternative right now. From the incident, not even one passenger, everything just dry up. We just sit here and run joke, we don’t have anything else to do.”

JUTA operator, Edward Givons, speculated that if the situation remains the same for much longer, as is expected to happen with most Americans afraid to fly, some drivers might have to resort to selling their vehicles.

“Six weeks or even nine weeks from now we might not see things come back because of the fear of terrorism and that they might strike again. But we’re asking God to intervene,” he said. “Perhaps we might have to sell our vehicles and depend on the money after that. I don’t know who is gonna buy them, but we might have to sell out ’cause there’s no other way for us than this way.”

While some persons have theorised that the industry might be able to recoup some of its losses if airline passengers opt to travel via cruise ships, industry players have dismissed these suggestions.

According to manager of the Montego Bay cruise ship pier, David Lindo, he expects no significant increase in the number of cruise passengers.

“To get to the port where the ship leaves, people have to fly,” he pointed out. “So I don’t foresee any significant increase in cruise ship passengers as a result of the fear of flying.”

That is bad news for ground transportation operators who had hoped that the cruise shipping sector might have provided them with some business.

According to JUTA’s Givons, there is not much they can do now but pray.

“We depend on the airlines to come in and out of this airport and if the airport is shut down for much longer, we don’t know what we gonna do. So we’re praying and begging God to allow the problems to be alleviated as early as possible so our income can be back on stream,” he said.