CJIA collected $3.4b in revenue for 2019

The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) collected a total $3.4B in revenue for 2019, the Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Jaipaul Sharma said on Wednesday.

The Minister noted that this was remarkable for CJIA.

“Revenue collected in 2015 was $1B and in 2019 the revenue was $3.4B,” the Minister said.

Total expenditure for the year was $1B.

The airport also saw an increase in passenger arrival and aircraft landing.

“International aircraft landing was 3644 an increase of 2.13% when compared to 2018, jet aircraft landing increased from 3548 to 3644, the increase is due mainly to additional flights from Copa and American Airlines,” the Minister said.

The Minister noted that, Guyana will soon be applying for category 1 status.

For 2019 there was a 7% increase in international passengers, while there was a 4% increase, overall, for passengers.

They were 346, 753 international passengers who arrived through the CJIA in 2019; in total 657, 433 arrived.

JetBlue Airways will be also be expanding its Caribbean network with new non-stop flights between CJIA and JFK.

“Flights will operate daily on JetBlue A321 new aircraft beginning April 02, 2020.”

Meanwhile, during 2019 the airport was successfully audited by the Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority.

“These audits tested the effectiveness of the systems and procedures implemented by the airport to counter security treats,” the Minister said.

He noted that 42 items were recovered with the aid of CCTV footage including s passports, phones, laptops, jewelry and luggage.

For 2020, a cargo facility will be constructed at CJIA. The Minister said a cargo processing machine has already been procured.

Other projects for this year include: an automatic car parking system; construction of shopping mall, which is at the consultancy stage and the contract to be awarded; and a shop for locally produced products for which a concessionaire has already been named and the contract is being finalized.

A self-check in system, passenger tracking software, cabin baggage scanner and explosive trace detector machine will be procured this year.

The Minister said a five-year strategic plan is expected to be completed in May this year.