Director General, GCAA, Ret’d Colonel Egbert Field
Several airlines have applied to the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to operate locally.
This is according to Director General, GCAA, Ret’d Colonel Egbert Field who disclosed that the Authority is currently in discussions with officials from those airlines and is working on their applications.
The Director General noted that the two airlines from the United States and three from Caribbean region are the latest to indicate their interest in operating airline service routes within the region between Havana and Guyana or Aruba and Guyana.
He underlined that, “Cubans are spending close to US$500,000 a week in Guyana’s economy and that is a sizeable amount. Imagine the increase when you have additional airlines flying the same route bringing passengers out of Havana…I cannot forecast that the travelling cost will decrease but increased competition brings the prices down and this is one of the things we’re working on.”
Field further said that the Aruba Airline is expected to begin formal flights early in July. He explained that the Authority and the airline’s officials are currently finalising the application.
“The airline out of Aruba would like to fly to Guyana and also fly through from Havana. To date we have Easy Sky flying from Havana to Georgetown. Aruba also wants to fly on that route so it would benefit the economy of Guyana greatly and those Guyanese who wish to travel to Aruba and Curacao to make connection with the world,” Field explained.
Aruba Airlines was founded in 2006; its network includes Venezuela, several cities in Cuba and Miami. There is good traffic between Guyana and Cuba and, Aruba Airlines will haul in more traffic between Guyana and Cuba. This increase in travel will lead to an increase in foreign currency, especially from the Cubans who travel to Guyana on a regular basis Field stated. (GINA/DPI)
