Within its first year of operation here, Omni Helicopters Guyana Incorporated (OHGI) has conducted over 2,300 flights and hired 50 Guyanese nationals.
The company provides services to ExxonMobil Guyana offshore operations.
Speaking at the one-year anniversary celebrations on Wednesday night, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of OMNI helicopters group, Jeremy Akel said the company had their first flight here on January 1, 2023, six weeks ahead of its original schedule.
Since then, he said they have “safely” transported more than 50,000 passengers with an on-time departure of 94 percent.
“The OMNI way asked us to commit to continue to innovate, to improve safety, efficiency and accelerate the Guyanese knowledge and presence in aviation. We will continue this way. We will not quit.
“We set out of build a world class aviation operation because that’s what we promise…believe we are well on the way of building this world class aviation operation…but there is more to go and we are not done,” Akel said.
With heavy emphasis on training locals to contribute in the aviation sector, Director of OMNI helicopter Guyana Inc, Gerry Gouveia Jr said the company is committed to working to ensure that they become a centre of excellence for the region.
In fact, over the past year, he said 50 Guyanese were hired while several others were trained in the field either through sponsorship or internship opportunities.
“We are not just here to operate in Guyana. We are here to invest in Guyana. Our focus is just not flying the helicopter but lifting our Guyanese professionals,” Gouveia Jr said.
Meanwhile, in his address, Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Egbert Field said with the development in the country, there is a need for expansion in the aviation sector.
To foster, this Field said collaboration is essential.
“There is enough for each and every one that comes here in Guyana and boosting a safe operation encourages individuals and companies to come to Guyana because of what we are doing,” he said.
Over the past year, Caption Field said helicopter flights grew “tremendously”.
According to him, in 2023, there were 539 helicopter flights at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport.
“Those flights took off safely and they landed safely because safety is my number one goal when it comes to aviation,” he said.
Omni Helicopters International (OHI) is a financial holding company based in Portugal.
In 2023, through a partnership with Roraima Airways, the company started to provide offshore helicopter services in Guyana and the region.
