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Pivot Air’s chief executive says paperwork filed in a Dominican Republic court Friday could allow the airline’s five staff kept in the Caribbean nation since April to return home soon.

Eric Edmondson says the paperwork is still pending final court sign-off, but begins a process that will grant the crew who have been detained for 220 days the necessary government documentation and approvals to fly home.

Mr. Edmondson adds he does not have a timeline for the return of the workers because the case has already faced unforeseen delays, but he urged Dominican Republic authorities to work quickly on the matter.

The paperwork is still pending final court sign-off, but Mr. Edmondson said it begins a process that will grant the crew who have been detained for 220 days the necessary government documentation and approvals to fly home.

“We are deeply relieved that these five Canadians will soon return home to their families and loved ones,” said Mr. Edmondson in a written statement.

“We are grateful for their courage, resilience, and honesty throughout this devastating ordeal.

His statement did not say whether seven passengers detained with the workers will be released too and noted he does not have a timeline for the return of the workers because the case has already faced unforeseen delays.

However, Mr. Edmondson urged Dominican Republic authorities to move quickly on the matter and said Pivot was working with the government and unions to ensure staff are brought home “as soon as possible.”

The crew and passengers have been held in the Dominican Republic since April 5, when 200 kilograms of cocaine were discovered in the plane’s avionics bay and reported to police in Punta Cana.

Following the cocaine discovery, the Air Line Pilots Association, the Canadian Union for Public Employees and Unifor said their members were arbitrarily detained, threatened and prosecuted despite following Transport Canada protocols and international laws.

The crew members – two pilots, two flight attendants and one part-time maintenance engineer on a Pivot Airlines charter flight – were jailed, then later released on bail after surrendering their passports pending further investigation.

The Dominican Republic’s National Directorate for Drug Control said in an April 6 release they found “eight black packages” in the avionics bay of a private plane bound for Toronto from Punta Cana International Airport. Each package contained 25 smaller packets, the agency said, amounting to more than 440 pounds of cocaine.

The directorate said nine Canadians, one Dominican and one person from India were under investigation.

As the investigation began, Global Affairs Canada spokesman Jason Kung said in an e-mail that the department was aware of the detention and consular officials are providing assistance, but privacy considerations prevented him from disclosing more information.

Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

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