GUYANA was recently placed in the spotlight of the world-stage as the head of Guyana’s delegation to an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) conference, Minister Annette Ferguson, was asked to deliver the keynote address at the global forum.
According to a release from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) , earlier this month, a delegation from Guyana was invited by the Republic of Korea to participate at the Fourth ICAO Air Transport Symposium and Conference on International Air Transport Cooperation 2019 (IATS-CIAT 2019), held in Incheon, Republic of Korea, from May 8 to 10, 2019.
The ICAO also invited Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Lt. Col. (Ret’d) Egbert Field, and Director for Air Transport Management, Mr. Saheed Sulaman, to join the panel of experts to make presentations at the event.
The three-day event brought together aviation stakeholders from around the world, including regulators, airport operators and academia, to discuss ways of enhancing air connectivity and the benefits of a coherent global regulatory regime through the liberalisation of international air transport.
According to the GCAA, the Guyanese delegation delivered presentations and stimulated discussions focused on achieving regulatory convergence; unfair treatment of travellers; compensation and mechanisms for redress; the impact of levies on air transport sustainability; the implications on air connectivity; and a case for liberalisation of air transport for small developing states.
Guyana also participated in the Third Seminar on Strategic Management of Aviation Policy for High-level Administrators, which ran simultaneously with IATS-CIAT 2019. This seminar focused on the country’s policies and the main challenges confronting the industry.
The IATS-CIAT 2019 meeting highlighted the importance of states sharing their experiences and best practices on liberalization, so as to encourage and assist other states that are yet to fully embrace liberalisation in their regulatory approaches.
At the end of the event, the GCAA said, the participants agreed on several issues brought to the fore, including the importance of preventing the proliferation of taxes on international air transport and tourism; achieving regional harmonisation in the areas of consumer protection and competition regulations; promoting liberalisation among states; and that “safeguards or reassurances” are required in multilateral agreements on the liberalisation of market access.
The GCAA said that the country continues to build on its successful hosting of the Air Transport Meeting, which was held in November 2018 at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre.
Complementing the outcome of the meeting last year, the GCAA is currently developing modern regulations to address all areas of air travel, following the passage of a new Civil Aviation Act in the National Assembly in December 2018. Further, Guyana has signed on to a new Multilateral Air Services Agreement (MASA), which seeks to liberalise air transport within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
