A new passenger airline, interCaribbean Airways, has entered the local airspace and will be offering 12 round trips between Guyana and Barbados from December 17; additional destinations are expected eventually.
interCaribbean Airways is a regional airline that offers flights to some 27 destinations within the Caribbean. Currently, a base in Barbados serves as a hub to other Eastern Caribbean destinations and now, Guyana.
The airline was launched by Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill on Friday at the Duke Lodge in Kingston, Georgetown. There, the minister explained that with ties between Guyana and Barbados becoming stronger, the direct route was discussed in great detail with the airline.
Importantly, Edghill noted that Guyanese can have as many as three different times they can fly to Barbados on specific days.
“You can go to Barbados in the morning and come back in the evening,” Edghill declared.
The minister also alluded to the addition of other travel routes eventually. But, he charged the airline to provide world-class service to the people of Guyana who are expecting longlasting, quality services.
“We want you to stay in the market, we want you to grow even if there are other competitors,” Edghill stated, noting that there is a growing need for aviation services in Guyana.
Meanwhile, the Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar noted that two of the airways’ planes will be stationed in Guyana and interCaribbean is expected to create about 20 jobs. Importantly, too, the airline will be working alongside locally-owned Roraima Airways.
Indar also highlighted the growing aviation sector and the need for additional carriers to facilitate the travel of tourists, business people and workers.
The airline’s Chairman Lyndon Gardiner said that interCaribbean aims to provide easier intra-regional travel, recognising that there is a dearth of such services. Importantly, he said that he planned to establish this airline in each major Caribbean city with an airport by 2025, before the COVID-19 pandemic slowed those plans.
Still, he said that expansion was a crucial consideration and Guyana’s attractiveness as a business destination was all the more inviting for the company.
