GOVERNMENT is yet to be formally informed of any move by Delta Airlines to pull its flights from Guyana, according to Transport Minister Robeson Benn, who yesterday informed the Guyana Chronicle that the administration is still looking to have discussions with the Company.

Sarah Lora, General Manager, Corporate Communications for Latin America and Caribbean, yesterday, by way of a public statement, indicated that, “Delta Air Lines will close its station in Georgetown, Guyana discontinuing flights between the John F. Kennedy International Airport and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, effective May 6th, 2013, due to poor performance of the route.”
The Delta statement said that although the company would prefer to continue serving the market, flights between Georgetown and New York’s JFK International Airport have seen a decline in passenger loads and revenues for the past 18 months, “leading to unsustainable losses.
Benn yesterday lamented the fact that the company is yet to inform the Government formally of any troubles being experienced, saying that “they had approached us for a license.”
In the same vein, the Transport Minister said that “one would have hoped that they would have formally signalled to us.”
Benn, in an exclusive interview with this publication yesterday, said that the Guyana Government would have expected that the company would have, “invited us to discuss the problem, what they perceive the market place turning up.”
He did caution that without wanting to pre-empt an official notification from the company “we would hope to enter discussions into what difficulties they are finding.”
The minister said that to date, the only information at hand, relates to passenger complaints following attempts to book flights beyond June of this year.
“It is regrettable,” said Minister Benn, “it is not what we want….we want to have a major player like Delta providing a competitive service required for the market.”
Benn did say that, based on the information surfacing, the pullout relates only to the Guyana to New York route.
He said that this still leaves the Atlanta destination in the U.S that would still allow for flights out of Guyana.
This he explained would still allow for connecting flights from Atlanta to locations such as New York.
Meanwhile Minister with responsibility for Tourism, Industry and Commerce (ag), Irfaan Ali, has also indicated that the airline did not officially inform of the planned pullout.
Ali did reiterate statements made by Benn that government has planned discussions with the company with a view to resolving any difficulties being experienced with servicing the Guyana/New York route.
Delta Airlines in 2008 received U.S. and Guyana Governments approval to serve Georgetown, Guyana, nonstop from New York-JFK, beginning July of that year.
At the time, the company had indicated that more than 130,000 people of Guyanese descent live in the New York metropolitan region, and “this new service provides a convenient direct link between New York City and Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, enabling friends and family to visit each other.”