The authorities are in discussions with a United Kingdom group to have direct flights operate between Georgetown and London according to Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad.
While he did not elaborate, Minister Prashad at press conference yesterday stated that there have been discussions with “someone” from the United Kingdom to have direct flights between the two countries.
Stabroek News was informed by a source within the aviation sector that a UK-based group had approached the government with “elaborate” plans to have a direct service to these shores and at the moment discussions are in the infancy stage.
He said there are also discussions to have direct flights operate between Guyana and Toronto.
Canadian airline EnerJet recently announced its plans to operate a Boeing -737 service to these shores and while the company has been granted the go-ahead by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to operate here, its unclear when the service will begin.
Prashad noted yesterday that the government has been considering operating a national carrier but according to him, no final decision has been made to date.
He said that the authorities are considering all options where the aforementioned is concerned.
The Commerce Minister also shed light on discussions the executives of Caribbean Airlines have had with the government recently. He described the discussions, at which President Bharrat Jagdeo and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds were present, as fruitful.
Prashad said the airline has adopted a “new attitude” as regards its service to Guyanese customers, noting that for some time there had been concerns raised by the travelling public about the service offered to Guyanese.
He said that several areas, mainly the cost of travel between Guyana and New York and the general on-flight services of the airline were discussed with the airline team which included its Chairman George Nicholas and Vice President Mohan Jaikarran.
Caribbean Airlines’ fleet has been expanded and with its new merger with Air Jamaica, Prashad stated that the company is expected to provide an improved service to these shores.
Caribbean Airlines is expected to employ its Dash 8 service to Guyana when the Ogle Airport is given permission to operate regional flights.
The contractor is at the moment carrying out final works to the airport and the airport’s management told this newspaper a few weeks ago that regional air carrier LIAT is anxiously awaiting the airport’s expansion to be completed in order to operate from the East Coast Demera-ra location.
