Guyana’s aviation sector is already 95% compliant with the requirements needed to attain a Category One status, which would see carriers from Guyana flying directly to the United States of America, Ogle International Airport boss Anthony Mekdeci said last week.
Mekdeci, speaking at an Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana (AOAG) news conference last Thursday, said the Category One status is a standard required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) conventions, to which Guyana is a signatory.
The Category One status is accepted internationally and countries that fail to reach the standard would not be permitted to have their aircraft travel to the United States of the America, Mekdeci said. “For example, the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] does not permit a carrier from a country that doesn’t have Category One status to go to the US. It is a standard that is also accepted within the Caribbean,” he said.
He stated that the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has been working to ensure that Guyana meets the standard, for which it was given a two-year timeframe. President of the AOAG Michael Correia stated that US$2M would be needed for that period.
Chief Executive Officer of Roraima Airways Captain Gerry Gouveia, however, said that more flight operations inspectors inspecting aircraft at the airport would see Guyana achieving the status faster. He further emphasised the need for resident flight operations oversight officers to be hired in order to support the work of the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS). “Very few people considered flight operations significant… but the ICAO had come out with the standard and because the standard was there for flight operations oversight, all the countries of the world started to put that in place,” he said.
He added that even though inspections were carried out every three to six months by CASSOS inspectors, there is a need for increased inspections, given the rise in air traffic at the airport. He further noted that air services at the airport would provide services to the mining, forestry and tourism industries and also hinterland communities. He stated an average of 13,000 passengers utilised the airport, while 150,000 pounds of cargo were transported every month.
Gouveia said too that flight operations inspectors were contracted to inspect the entire aircraft so as to ensure that it is functioning properly and according to aviation standards. He said that the inspector had to be a competent pilot who was trained and experienced in flying.
Annette Arjoon-Martins, of Air Services Limited, who was also present, said that there were numerous flight operations inspectors in Trinidad and Tobago and that GCAA has jumped on the opportunity to have more CASSOS inspectors come to Guyana.
She stated that the close proximity of the two countries was encouraging and the GCAA has engaged itself in conversations with CASSOS.
She revealed that the Director of the GCAA was meeting with the Director-General of the Trinidad and Tobago Aviation Authority, who is also the head of the CASSOS.
