Just one month after commencing Guyana operations, Inter-Caribbean Airways has added five Guyanese flight attendants to their crew and presented them with their signatory ‘wings’ on Friday.
The simple ceremony was held at the Roraima Duke Lodge where the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Barbados-based airline Trevor Sadler noted that the move is in keeping with the company’s local content promise of ensuring a balanced capacity of Barbadians and Guyanese workers.
“On our entry into this dynamic market, we said that we are committed to training and hiring locals and this is a testament to that promise today,” the CEO remarked.
The move was lauded by the Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Egbert Field who urged the new flight attendants to be pioneers of the sector.
“Inter-Caribbean Airways did not only talk the talk, you see action and now, you five flight attendants, but you are also ambassadors of Guyana…you are flying that flag of Guyana out there so be aware of it,” Field said.
The five attendants were part of a batch of seven that endured a rigorous four-week training with written and physical tests by flight trainer, Milton Hernandez.
According to new flight attendants, the training entailed learning how to open and close doors of various aircraft, types to jumping down slides, and evacuating passengers in a pool to simulate a water ditching.
The newly trained Anna Layne shared with the News Room that becoming a flight attendant was never the plan but a later love for the aviation sector put her on the career path.
“This is my third go around and it was my most challenging with a lot of anxiety about the final exam but we made it and it means a lot to me, being an ambassador for Guyana through Inter-Caribbean…I am patriotic, local to the bone so I wanna show the world what we offer in aviation,” she shared.
Inter-Caribbean Airways commenced direct flights between Guyana and Barbados on December 17.
The regional airline offers flights to some 27 destinations within the Caribbean and currently, a base in Barbados serves as a hub to other Eastern Caribbean destinations and now, Guyana.
