WITHIN the first three months of this year, the Ministry of Tourism Industry and Commerce hopes to initiate discussions with three large airline companies WestJet, Air Canada, and Jet Blue to stimulate and motivate interests in investing in Guyana.

WestJet is the second-largest Canadian air carrier, behind Air Canada, offering scheduled service to 81 destinations in Central and North America, and the Caribbean. It operates a fleet of 99 Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft.  WestJet in November last launched a daily, non-stop service between Toronto and Port of Spain. JetBlue is an American airline.
Tourism Minister (ag) Irfaan Ali told the media on Friday that his Ministry has been in discussions with the Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana who is trying to facilitate meetings with Air Canada and WestJet.
Both of the latter can provide a valuable service as there is a large Guyanese community living in Canada.
In 2011, EZJet began operating from New York to Guyana, offering much needed low airfares. However, the airline was suspended in late 2012 by the United States and subsequently the Guyana governments had to suspend its operations here.    
Guyana also lost the services of low cost air carrier Redjet due to economic reasons.
Among the airlines servicing Guyana are Caribbean Airlines, Delta Airlines, LIAT and Suriname Airways.
For 2012 there were 543,435 passenger movements or 15% more than that of the previous year. 
Within the second quarter of the year, the expansion plan at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport will begin, preparing Guyana to accommodate larger aircrafts.