President Donald Ramotar says that the main reason for granting Caribbean Airlines (CAL) flag carrier status was to access direct flights to destinations and lower fares.
“It will bring the cost down that people can fly direct. Like now, people are able to fly direct… The consideration is both an economic one and one for the convenience of the travelling public,” Ramotar told Stabroek News recently, when asked what prompted the decision.
Guyana flag carrier status was bestowed on CAL early last month on instructions from Ramotar and the Cabinet.
As the airline launched its inaugural non-stop flight from here to Canada, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn had delivered the news at a simple ceremony to mark the occasion.
The move came amid two spectacular failures by airlines which had been servicing the Guyana route: Barbados-based REDjet and the local charter EZjet. A series of other airlines here had failed