By Alva Solomon

THE Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has commenced with stakeholders in the aviation sector a series of consultations geared at amending the country’s aviation regulations to make them conformable with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements and advancements in the sector.

The domestic aviation sector plays a key role in development of the country, and while those operators are the primary target of the ongoing process, the international airline operators are also included in the process.

Amanza Walton-Desir, General Counsel of the GCAA, is coordinating the ongoing consultation process, which began last week at the Pegasus Hotel.

“This is just the beginning; the first meeting was intended to set the context for the new regulations, and to establish the framework for continuous engagement with aviation stakeholders,” Walton-Desir told this newspaper.

The aviation sector in Guyana is governed by pieces of legislation that include the Civil Aviation Act of 2000 and the Investigations of Accident Regulations, 1982. The latter has not been updated since promulgation.

Walton-Desir said the ICAO recommends that when new laws and regulations are to be introduced, there should first be a consultation process with the players in the industry.

“That is so that they are aware of what the proposed changes are, and how (they) will affect their operations, and to obtain feedback on those changes,” she said.

She noted that, in 2007, the ICAO had undertaken an audit of the GCAA operations, and the assessment had uncovered a number of deficiencies in the legal framework for oversight of the aviation industry here.

The GCAA has therefore commenced a process of examining the laws currently in place with a view to addressing the deficiencies identified by the ICAO.

She said that, over the years, the local aviation industry had pointed out that Guyana’s aviation regulations were not best suited for the type of operations carried out by the sector.

Walton-Desir explained that the current regulations are based on model regulations designed for international operations using medium-to-long-range, large, multi-crew aircraft, and not the predominantly small, single-pilot types of aircraft serving the domestic market here.

“So what we hope to achieve at the end of these initial series of consultations is a regulatory framework that is ICAO-compliant, but which at the same time contemplates the Guyana operating environment,” she said.

GOOD START
While noting that drafting suitable regulations can prove time-consuming, Walton-Desir said that the process is at a stage where there is a set of drafted regulations; and, according to her, the GCAA is working to complete the consultation process with the industry stakeholders by August.

“We will be providing the text of the regulations to stakeholders. We have provided a mechanism for receiving their feedback and comments,” she added.

Over the years, the enforcement of regulations has been problematic for both the GCAA and the aviation industry stakeholders; however, the ongoing process is deemed inclusionary.

According to Walton-Desir, ICAO’s mandate includes procedures on the resolution of safety concerns. She noted that enforcement has now been substituted with the term “resolution of safety concerns,” an indication, she said, that a more collaborative approach to aviation safety is being adopted globally.

The ongoing process will add to the country’s aim of achieving Category One rating in accordance with the United States Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment’s Category One rating.

According to Walton-Desir, the move is part of an overall move to achieve ICAO compliance, since it relates to only three of the 19 annexes containing ICAO Standards and Recommended practices.

“So it is safe to conclude that Guyana has an acceptable level of compliance with all the ICAO annexes. We will more than likely be in good standing for a Category One FAA rating when that time comes,” she said.

She added: “Under the Bilateral Air Services Agreement between Guyana and ICAO contracting states, each party to the agreement is obligated to comply with safety and security requirements stipulated by ICAO.”

Walton-Desir noted that, in the case of the USA, US law obligates the FAA to ensure compliance with ICAO requirements should a Guyanese operator indicate an interest in exploiting the commercial opportunities in the market.

The ongoing consultation process is set to be continuous, since it will enable the GCAA to better improve its regulatory systems; and according to Walton-Desir, the ongoing consultation process will ensure necessary legislative changes are communicated to the industry.