-GCAA Director-General tells new pilot association

THE emergence of Guyana’s lucrative petroleum sector has attracted much attention, with many foreigners already inching closer to the nation in order to access the numerous direct and indirect opportunities stemming from the production of the infamous “black gold.”
The government’s Local Content Policy, which was crafted with the intention of ensuring that Guyanese get an equal ‘bite’ of the “oil pie,” has since been revised, and will now include conditions that allow for the employment of local pilots by foreign airline operators.
This was confirmed by Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Lt. Col. (Ret’d) Egbert Field A.A, during a recent meeting with executives of the newly formed Pilot Association of Guyana.

The engagement, hosted on Friday at the Wings Aviation Hangar at Ogle, East Coast of Demerara, was led by Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, who underscored the government’s commitment towards the expansion of the aviation industry, and the wellbeing of its stakeholders.
Edghill outlined the government’s vision for the future of aviation in Guyana, pointing to three priority areas, namely safety, the training of pilots, and the need to capitalise on the opportunities within the local aviation sector and, by extension, the tourism sector.

The public works minister said that the government has been facilitating the expansion and development of the business and aviation sectors, by attracting investments from reputable airlines for the operations of more modern and larger aircraft services such as those from the Asian, European and the African markets.
The GCAA also granted approval recently for Fly Always and InterCaribbean Airlines to operate flights to and from Guyana.
The authority indicated, too, that the advent of the petroleum sector is likely to result in an increased need for helicopter pilots.
On this note, Edghill said that the government will engage stakeholders through partnerships, joint ventures and affirmative government action to have more locally trained helicopter pilots available to provide much-needed services.

Also attending the engagement was Ministerial Advisor on Aviation, Lenox Shuman, who encouraged the pilots to scrutinise the Local Content Policy in light of the burgeoning oil-and-gas sector.
The aviation expert expressed hope that the pilots will examine the document and see how it affects not only them, but also the wider industry.
The engagement also included Director for Aviation Safety and Security Regulations, Abraham Dorris; Chief Flight Operations Inspector, Captain Christopher Kirkcaldy; Captain Malcolm Chan-A-Sue; President of the Pilot Association of Guyana, Captain Paul Ramdat and other senior executives.
Several pilots from the various aircraft operators and Bristow Helicopters, which supports the operations of ExxonMobil, were also in attendance.