Condemns distorted view of aviation industry in media
PUBLIC Works Minister Robeson Benn has condemned a section of the media for what he perceives to be “carrion crow journalism” and one which presents a distorted view of the state of affairs in the local aviation industry.

Speaking with media operatives from his Kingston office, the Minister pointed out that the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) report which was referred to in an editorial in one of the dailies concerning the safety of aviation in Guyana, does not take into account that changes and measures have been taken since 2002 when the report was done.

He stressed that the watch words of his Ministry is safety first and efficiency of its operations, pointing out that this has been emphasised in all aspects of the Ministry’s operations.

“ I think that if any person was paying attention to what the Ministry has been doing and what its departments have been doing, they would at least see that a new safety culture is being developed and we are raising the bar with respect to safety; and that this attitude is now pervading all aspects of our operations.”

That classification existed since 2002, and there were specific reasons why the classification became necessary from the FAA point of view, and was one which saw the FAA subsequently working with some of these Caribbean islands to bring them to category one status, Minister Benn said.

“I am disappointed with the article because we have always stated and we have been up front with the media and the public with respect to everything that we’re doing in the aviation sector. We don’t deny that there’re issues, and those are the things which we’ve been discussing with the media”.

There is category one, under which eighty something countries come under, and then there is category two which 22 of 101 countries are classified, he further advised.

“We can become a Category 1 with some issues being developed, particularly if we have a national carrier, if we have a Guyana Airways flying again”

He stated, “We have said that the Government has sequestered over $660M to purchase equipment for the phase one of the tower, I think we have repeated this oft times to the media.”

An agreement has been signed for the acquisition of this equipment and the total cost of phase one is $770M, the Minister advised.

He added that for Ogle airport, government will be spending $30M before the end of the year, and another $330M for upgrade of the tarmac and the parking and runway areas at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

“So the sense that the Authority and that the Ministry isn’t doing anything and … that we aren’t addressing the concerns which we have in terms of improving things is one which we can’t accept.

“Too many times you have carrion crow journalism, we appear to be wanting to have something bad happen, we are not helpful or open to the opportunities of working together to have our development issues as a nation enhanced.

He stated that there have been reports with respect to aviation incidents internationally, aviation safety network, all of which have occurred since the beginning of the year.

“We have had some incidents, when you have operational issues with people and equipment, you have incidents. I don’t see any of these incidents appearing here to the extent that it makes it so earth shattering for our situation to be presented this way.

“We have had issues with our air traffic controllers and I have said before we seem to be always trying to set the agency against Air Traffic Controllers, and setting sections of the Guyanese people against each other, we seem to be setting fires, it’s another form of arson some of these articles and presentations in the media,” the Minister posited.

He noted that this attitude does not help, adding that the issue of Air Traffic Controller training and other training for aviation officers is one which the Ministry has always addressed and many of these officers travel the world for the latest training courses.

Benn also pointed out that some eighteen or more young people are being trained right now in this field, while some have recently graduated.

With regard to the vendor shacks along the road at the CJIA airport, the Minister pointed out that there was never any national discussion on this, and when steps were taken to break down some of the structures and move the vendors to other areas where they will be safe, sections of the media seemed upset.

He added that these individuals were also warned that if they build since being given notice, the Ministry will take action and break these structures, and this too sparked some controversy from most sections of the media.

“But we will persist with that programme. We will continue … they will be removed to an area where they can be decent and proper and those seemingly starter businesses can be done in a proper way,” Minister Benn assured.

As it relates to housing on airport land, the Minister said his Ministry is working along with the Housing Ministry to resolve issues so that the occupants can remove, so as to facilitate the expansion of the airport, ensuring too that its operations will ultimately be safe and proper.

He observed that this also is a process.
Presenting a number of interventions that the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority has taken since the presentation of the FAA report, Acting head of the GCAA, Paula McAdam, stated that when the report of the assessment was presented in August of 2002, the Authority was informed that Guyana has been reclassified as a Category 2 state.

“The Authority immediately began to take steps to resolve the identified deficiencies and documentation was developed and dispatched to the FAA.”

She noted that some of the recommendations presented in the report are that the GCAA needs to develop and implement technical regulations for flights operations and airworthiness oversight in keeping with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) annexes 6 and 8.

The GCAA was also advised that it needed to be provided with the necessary skilled, experienced and trained personnel and sufficient financial resources to support its activities, as well as develop and use Inspector Guidance materials in keeping with the regulations.

The provision of initial and refresher training must be continuous, the FAA said, advising too that airmen licensing and air operator certification need to be developed and implemented in accordance with ICAO standards.

A formal programme of continuing surveillance of air operators, air agencies and designated examiners to monitor the industry’s operations and ensuring continued compliance with the Laws of Guyana was also recommended to the local authority, the GCAA official told the media.

She noted that since that time, the FAA provided counterpart funding to the Regional Aviation Safety Oversight System (RASOS), and in collaboration with RASOS, assisted member states to meet Category 1 standing.

She added that several states, including Suriname, Trinidad and the OECS states, attained Category 1 classification as a direct result of technical assistance from the FAA.

“However, although they were aware that Guyana needed this assistance and that the Authority was eager to participate in this programme, it never materialised for Guyana,” McAdam pointed out.

She added that nonetheless, the Authority continued to work vigorously to achieve and maintain standards set by the ICAO.

Guyana was subject to the February 2007 ICAO audit, which showed that considerable improvements were made in the areas of its legislation and regulations, in licensing, certification, authorisation and approval obligations, the GCAA official stated.

She asserted that Guyana’s present situation, unlike what was represented in the article, is considerably different.

In the areas of legislation, there has been considerable improvement as it relates to the documentation and records of certification and inadequate continuing oversight of air carrier operations, which was not in existence at the time of the report, but which has been developed and has seen significant strides in this area.

Other steps for improvement being taken by the GCAA include a complete review of the Act and other subsidiary regulations, which is now in progress, as well as the implementation of the CNS/ATM modernisation project which is expected to contribute significantly towards improved air navigation services provided here, McAdam advised.

She added that phase 1 of that project has been approved and implementation is expected to commence shortly.

McAdam stated that the Authority is continuing to strive to meet and maintain the standards of the increasing technological advances that are being made in the international civil aviation, as Guyana strives to achieve Category 1 classification.

However, she pointed out, “It must be noted that Guyana does not have its own air carrier and international airlines from Category 1 approved countries provide an adequate service, therefore the travelling public is in no way inconvenienced by Guyana’s classification as a Category 2 State at this time”.