Guyana’s strategic place in regional aviation market denied
– as a result of Opposition stymieing the CJIA Expansion Project

“WE need to work together, and we need the Opposition to understand that the expansion work of CJIA must be placed in a developmental paradigm, instead of a political ball game.”

The words of Tourism Minister (ag) Mr Irfaan Ali were stentorian in his response to the Tourism sector’s position on the 2014 Budget cut for the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) project.

In an interview with this publication, Minister Ali declared: “We have said from the inception that one of the critical infrastructures for the tourism sector is the expansion of the CJIA runway. It is very important for our airport to attain Class One status; it means that we not only have good security systems and safety systems, but also the infrastructure of the airport should be of a certain benchmark”.

It is important for the country to attain Class One status for various reasons. Minister Ali pointed out the following reasons: “It helps to make travel easier and more comfortable; it will make us operationally efficient; it will attract more international carriers, and it places us into the standard for all international airports”.

It should also be noted that one of the major setbacks any airport has in attracting new carriers is the length of its runway and its capability to accommodate large aircraft. The length of the runway is an essential component in attracting aviation business to Guyana, hence Guyana needs to lengthen its existing runway to attract other carriers and ultimately become a major aviation hub in this region.

Many airlines are changing their fleet and upgrading to larger and more efficient aircraft. The CJIA would consequently not be able to accommodate those carriers any longer if it does not lengthen its runway, Minister Ali explained.

Guyana is a potentially exceptional transfer point for aviation traffic and with the expansion in our hotel industry and other tourism sectors, there would be an influx of persons travelling into the country. Expanding our existing facilities is, therefore, inevitable.

Minister Ali related that, just recently, “During the Christmas season 2013, we had passengers waiting on the apron of the runway for as much as 45 minutes, because our arrival area could not accommodate all the passengers; and this poses a severe challenge for all entities involved. An incident of this nature diminishes the visitors’ experience, especially for our first-time visitors”.

Minister Ali admonished, “We should see the CJIA as a non-political issue, because these are issues that are non-negotiable and we cannot afford to play politics with them”.

The latest airline that is set to become operational in Guyana is the Curacao-registered airline Insel, which will begin operating here in June 2014. The Panamanian Airline Copa is also preparing for a July 2014 start up of operations locally, whilst discussions are in the pipeline for another international carrier to begin operating here as well.

The $6.5B allocation for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Expansion project was voted down by the Parliamentary Opposition in the Committee of Supply’s consideration of the 2014 Budget estimates.

(By Rebecca Ganesh-Ally)