Inadequate navigation aids at the Cheddi Jagan Inter-national Airport, Timehri has been the major contributor to LIAT’s left luggage woes, the Caribbean carrier’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Darby told the media yesterday.
A LIAT delegation led by Darby held a press conference here yesterday following separate meetings with Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Transport Minister Robeson Benn as part of reaffirming the airline’s commitment to customers.
Darby said that during his discussions with the government officials the matter of the navigational aids was raised and LIAT was assured of government’s plan to upgrade Timehri.
Explaining the airline’s ongoing issues with left luggage, Darby said that when the weather was poor, pilots would have difficulty landing and in some instances have been forced to return to the port of origin. This has occurred close to ten times, he said. Because of this, as a precautionary measure, LIAT planes double their onboard fuel store, in case the plane had to turn back.
“So this reduces the space for passenger baggage and contributes to our baggage problems,” Darby said.
This newspaper subsequently spoke with Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) head Zulficar Mohammed who acknowledged that the navigation and communication equipment currently being used at the airport were pretty old. He said updated Distance Measuring Equipment and Instrument Landing systems were needed and the authority will be modernising the system with financial assistance from the government, for which an international tendering process is to begin shortly.
Despite this acknowledgement, however, Mohammed said he did not believe LIAT’s argument that this contributed to its baggage problems was logical.
He said such complaints never came from the former Caribbean Star during its operations here. He added that the equipment, or its lack thereof, did not affect the safety of operations of the airlines; but the planned upgrade would assist air traffic controllers to expedite their work.
He added that all the other airlines operate under the same conditions, and have not complained.
However, he acknowledged that the Instrument Landing System would assist aircraft to land in bad weather conditions, and this was on the list for the modernisation of the system.
Additionally, Darby said LIAT has been struggling to encourage passengers to carry light luggage.
However, he said, in high demand periods such as Christmas and summer, the airline divides its aircraft cabins equally between passenger space and luggage.
He asked that travellers be patient and acknowledged that the baggage woes have been frustrating for many passengers. He said the airline was working on its communication mechanism to ensure that passengers do not have wasted trips to the airport for their luggage.
Expansion
The airline plans to expand its network and is looking at increasing the destinations it serves, to include Suriname. It is also looking forward to the completion of the Ogle airport.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for us and will be an additional airport for us to operate from and is an ideal destination since it takes more than ten minutes off of travel time,” Darby said.
He said the airport would provide LIAT with exciting additional operating pros-pects.
Meanwhile, as airlines struggle with rising fuel prices worldwide, LIAT hopes to keep its costs down and keep travelling costs to a minimum.
The airline, which serves 22 Caribbean destinations, last year expended US$250,000 each week on fuel, but with the rising fuel prices this has risen to US$350,000 per week.
He said the airline continues to try to keep operational costs down, but did not have the opportunity to slash fares.
“But we are looking for ways to keep them down and a reduction in taxation by regional governments could do a far way in this regard,” he said.
In some Caribbean states, the airline is the only one operating, but Darby said he did not believe it was really a monopoly. “In some places we are the monopoly but it’s not something that we set out to become. If other airlines move in, it’s fine