Minister of Works Robeson Benn says that Fly Jamaica has not yet been ‘cleared for take-off’ as the airline with Guyanese ‘lineage’ is still to submit key documents to the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
Efforts to reach captain Ronald Reece, one of the airline’s principals, were futile. This newspaper was told that Reece was in Jamaica from where the airline operates.
Speaking to this newspaper last weekend, Benn said that unlike Jamaica, Guyana would seek to reimburse passengers for their tickets in the event of an airline going belly up and it is for this reason that Government must ensure that there is full compliance with all of the regulatory and financial requirements.
An official of Wings Aviation, whose CEO Reece is one of the partners in Fly Jamaica, said that she has heard no word from the GCAA. According to the official the company would have submitted all that is required by the GCAA.
The need for a new air carrier became more acute with the May 5th, 2013 pull-out of Delta Airlines from Guyana after five years of flying non-stop the Georgetown-New York route.
In February this year Fly Jamaica began roaming the skies between Jamaica and North America. It is still to commence service to Toronto.
Fly Jamaica was incorporated in Kingston, Jamaica on August 22, 2011 and started with a Boeing 757 aircraft. “We faced a rigorous start-up process, including meeting national and international requirements,” the airline said on its website. It said that through the stewardship of its experienced management and dedication of its employees, “we proved to aviation regulators that we have what it takes to be a world-class airline.”
It said that on August 24, 2012, Fly Jamaica conducted a demonstration flight from Kingston, Jamaica to Georgetown, Guyana, as part of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority’s (JCAA) approval process; and on August 31, 2012 the JCAA issued the airline with its Air Operators Certificate (AOC).
According to the website, Fly Jamaica in order to operate as a commercial US-registered carrier also had to satisfy rigorous requirements for the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and Transportation and Security Administration (TSA).
