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GEORGETOWN, Guyana (Tuesday, May 4, 2021) — Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, disclosed, yesterday, that the government has granted approval for the Turks and Caicos Islands’ InterCaribbean Airways and Suriname-based FlyAllways to operate flights to the country.
The Public Works Minister made this announcement, during a meeting — with travel agents at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) — which Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Director General, retired Lieutenant Colonel, Egbert Field, also attended.
“We are engaging new airlines to come to Guyana. We have just approved, at the level of Cabinet, two new airlines, FlyAllways and InterCaribbean Airways. There are applications of other airlines that we are considering,” the Minister revealed.
Minister Edghill added that the government continues to engage Virgin Atlantic Airways, a British airline based in England, that had first expressed interest in the Guyana route, in 2019.
“This has to go now to the next level. I think the next stage is a call, [between] myself and the CEO of Virgin Atlantic, to see if … could get some accommodation on the way forward,” Edghill alluded.
Guyana’s Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, addresses a meeting with travel agents, in the capital of Georgetown, yesterday.
Furthermore, since the present government took up office in August, last year, JetBlue Airways was granted approval and has begun operations in Guyana.
Additionally, with the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Minister Edghill said the government is hoping to attract flights coming to Guyana, from the East.
The intention is to promote Guyana as a hub for regional travel and international connectivity, and serve as a link between the Caribbean and South America, he explained.
“We still want to ensure that we can bring in the wider body jets, carry more passengers with capacity for greater cargo, to bring cost down from the economy of scales and, perhaps, when they get here, shuttle them to French Guiana, Brazil, Trinidad, back into the Caribbean,” Edghill elaborated.
Since the reopening of the CJIA, in October, last year, more than 60,000 travellers have entered Guyana, and that number, according to Minister Edghill, is expected to increase, significantly, during the course of this year.
