GUYANA will shortly be inking a bilateral agreement with the United States of America which will allow commercial aircrafts from both countries to land in areas other than where they are under the current rules and regulations now forced to land.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon disclosed that Cabinet had given its approval for Guyana to conclude an Open Skies Agreement with the USA.
Open skies is an international policy that liberalises the rules and regulations of the international aviation industry—especially commercial aviation—in order to create a free-market environment for the industry.
CARICOM states Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis have already concluded Open Skies agreements with the USA.
Dr. Luncheon said that the Guyana/USA agreement will liberalise regulations   as they apply to movement of passengers, cargo, scheduled services, chartered services and States based flights.
Under Open Skies agreement for example, Guyana can have US commercial aircraft landing at airstrips (once they meet the required standards) other than Timehri and flights originating from Guyana can land at places other than the currently prescribed New York and Miami Airports.
Dr. Luncheon disclosed that the minister responsible for local aviation, Mr. Robeson Benn had advised Cabinet that the Open Skies agreement with the USA has the potential to create more affordable more efficient and reliable air transport services to and from Guyana.
He said that Mr. Benn had in his presentation pointed out to Cabinet a multiplicity of benefits to be derived by Guyana and Guyanese from such an arrangement.
He had also disclosed that the minister had identified several countries in South America which had signed Open Skies bilateral arrangements with the USA.
He said: “It was obvious from the minister’s presentation that other countries are rushing to get on board.”
He disclosed that government had perused a draft Open Skies Agreement proposal submitted by the US Government embodying offers that the USA makes to potential partners in keeping with their national policy in their international aviation sector.
Government had not identified any areas of disagreement with it. “You can’t fight success,” Dr. Luncheon added.
The next step is the formal signing of the agreement in the presence of stakeholders such as the operators in the local aviation sector, at a date venue and time to be announced, he said.