Dear Editor,
Cheddi Jagan international airport is the gateway to Guyana for almost 90% of tourists arriving by air. On our recent trip we were not impressed with the airport. The facilities there are below those of modern international airports even though it was upgraded recently. Not having a decent place to eat once checked in is one glaring example of the airport’s shortcomings. This airport does not create a very good first or last first impression for the discerning tourist. .
Guyana is not well served by airlines from the west, only BWIA/Caribbean Airlines has been a stalwart over the years. Currently only charter operations seem to service Guyana from North America with North American having the only non-stop service at a premium cost. LIAT has a service to other Caribbean Islands and there is some type of service to Suriname and Brazil which seems to be variable, inadequate and unreliable on Meta and Blue Sky airlines. It seems very strange that we can’t seem to attract major carriers from Venezuela and Brazil such as TAM or GOL.
Here is the catch 22 – since many airlines don’t land at Cheddi Jagan airport then obviously the airport does not make much money from landing fees or passenger facility charges because passenger throughput would be low if airlines don’t bring tourists. This explains the fact there are no proper concession places for the airport to leverage more money out of passengers. The layout of the airport is also ill suited to earning income from passengers, for some strange reason people like to shop and spend money in airports. So without money how can you improve the airport?
A major drawback apart from the non-working navigational aids is the length of the runway which is the shortest in the Caribbean and not able to accommodate a fully loaded heavy long haul 747-400. This runway has to be upgraded to attract larger more profitable aircraft and airlines once the tourism product is sorted out.
Yours faithfully,
Rohan Rodriguez
