PANAMA-based Copa Airlines has announced the commencement of their service to Guyana starting in July this year.

The Guyana route will begin operations with flights twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Fridays, to Panama City, Panama, and passengers would have the leisure of booking connecting flights to a number of other destinations such as Montreal, Canada, Fort Lauderdale, Florida and New York.

Sales Manager of Copa Airlines, Mr Guillermo Gomez, in making the announcement at a press conference, said that “as a member of Copa Airlines and speaking on behalf of the entire company, we are very glad that Guyana will become one of our most important achievements in 2014, the 30th country on our network and our 68th destination.”

Several steps had to be taken to encourage Copa Airlines to begin operations in Guyana and settling the visa arrangements posed one of the major issues, Minster of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett pointed out.

ENORMOUS POTENTIAL
The Government of Guyana, therefore, has decided to waive visas for citizens of Panama, Peru and Costa Rica. Citizens of these countries can now visit Guyana without the need for a visa and spend 90 days in the country when approved by immigration.

Minister Rodrigues-Birkett also said at the press conference that “the government recognises the enormous potential for trade and investment for tourism with Panama.”

The announcement of a new airline comes at a time when Guyana is looking to attract more tourists as well as other airlines, “when we seek to expand our horizons into new opportunities that await us with the commencement of Copa’s operations,” said acting Minister of Tourism Irfaan Ali as he welcomed Copa Airlines to Guyana.

SPEAKING SPANISH
Ali reaffirmed that “our front line staff from immigration, customs, GTA, and THAG would have to change their approach to business, and the first order of business, which started in the Ministry of Tourism and GTA, is to ensure that the staff can speak and understand Spanish.” This is essential as “we expand into new markets and bridge the language gap which over the years has caused many barriers between Guyana and Latin America, he added.
Copa Airlines serve at present 68 destinations in some 30 countries with over 300 scheduled daily flights in North, South and Central America and the Caribbean. It is recognised for its leadership in international connectivity, punctuality, quality of service and for having one of the most modern fleets in the industry. Copa Airlines was founded in 1947 as the national airline of Panama and is a subsidiary of Copa Holdings, S.A. as well as a member of the Star Alliance. The airline is also the main operator and owner of Colombian airline Aero Republica, currently known as Copa Airlines Colombia.
Written By Rebecca Ganesh-Ally