History was made on Wednesday night when the Ogle Airport received its first regional night flight after LIAT’s ATR42 made a flawless touchdown at 21.54 hrs with 17 passengers aboard from Trinidad & Tobago.
A press release yesterday from Ogle Airport Inc (OAI) said that the landing came immediately following a torrential downpour that threatened to flood the Airport and postpone the historic event. That storm flooded several parts of Georgetown and the East Coast.
The OAI release said that Director General (ag), of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Chaitrani Heeralall, accompanied by senior GCAA staff and the Director General of the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA), Donald Mc Phail, visiting from Antigua for the occasion, were all there to witness the landing.
The LIAT flight originally scheduled to arrive at Ogle at 19:40 hrs was forced to postpone its departure from Port of Spain because of the ferocious storm which raked the capital city and the East Coast with heavy rain. OAI said that passengers booked on the historic flight to Barbados were forced to drive through blinding rain and a flooded East Coast highway approach to the Airport in order to make their flight.
The skies over the Ogle Airport began to clear at about 21:00 hrs and at 21:45 hrs when the lights of the LIAT aircraft appeared over the North West approach, visibility was near perfect for the landing.
Thirty nine passengers then boarded the inaugural flight for Barbados after a quick turnaround of the aircraft for a 22:37 hrs departure rescheduled to arrive at approximately 00:40 hrs.
OAI said that LIAT’s expanded schedule will now include night flights between Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago, departing Piarco Airport, Port of Spain, at 19:40 hrs (7:40 p.m) and arriving at Ogle Airport at 20:40 hrs (8:40 p.m), every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and between Guyana and Barbados, departing Ogle Airport at 21:10 hrs (9:10 p.m) and arriving at Grantley Adams Airport, Barbados, at 23:10 hrs (11:10 p.m).