Gov’t hopes to make Guyana a new travel hub as United Airlines starts flights here

Guyanese authorities are exploring how they can make Guyana a new travel hub, particularly as a layover space for many long-haul flights, according to the Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill.

Edghill disclosed the government’s intentions to position the country as a new transit hub Tuesday night during a reception hosted by United Airlines in Georgetown.

A day before, the American airline landed its first scheduled flight in Guyana. The airline is offering direct flights between Guyana and Texas, four times every week.

Edghill noted that more airlines are either flying the Guyana route now or have signalled an interest in doing so. And he believes it makes good business sense for them since Guyana can be a hub, connecting other regions to the Caribbean and South America.

“While you are flying out of your hub in Houston to Georgetown, see Guyana as a hub that connects the vast South America with the Caribbean.

“There can be a lot of possibilities with partnerships and engagements developing from that,” Edghill said.

But beyond urging the airlines to capitalise on Guyana’s geographic location, the Public Works Minister said the government wants to position the state as an important travel and transit hub.

“… we are looking at options of how Guyana, because of where it is positioned, can be the choice of stopover for long hauls into other parts of the world, cutting travel time and providing a very useful stopover as well,” he said.

And to facilitate an expected increase in travel, which has already gone above pre-pandemic levels, Edghill reminded those gathered at the reception that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri, East Bank Demerara is being continuously upgraded.

For United Airlines, Patrick Quayle, the company’s Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances, said the new flights allow travellers from Guyana to get access to Houston, a destination that is itself a major travel hub in the US.

So he believes the new flights will be integrally connecting Houston, arguably the world’s energy capital, with Guyana, the world’s fastest-growing economy. And Quayle believes that is good for the countries and the company.