Dear Editor,
In an SN letter of September 19, Leon Suseran expressed the view that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri is an embarrassment to Guyanese national pride.
It is apparent from his remarks and observations that he lacks international travel experience as he claimed, “that nationals of the USA and Canada and other world class airports do not have to join any line upon arrival at immigration.” This statement is far from reality as my experience and that of many Guyanese arriving at the JFK International Airport in New York, one of the three largest in the USA, clearly illustrates.
Most flights from Guyana arriving at JFK normally disgorge their passengers at the farthest end of one of the wings of the International Terminal Building and from there they have to walk indoors over 2000 feet with their hand luggage to the immigration hall. On arrival at the hall, Guyanese passengers join other international passengers who are directed to visitors and residents immigration booths, both usually with long winding lines of passengers leading to them. After clearing immigration, passengers head for their respective carousel to pick up their luggage. After collecting their luggage some 30-60 minutes later they head for the shortest customs counter line for examination of their belongings, after which they are free to exit the airport and head for their destinations. The immigration and customs experiences at Heathrow airport, London, Pearson International, Toronto and elsewhere are not much different from that of the USA.
The departure experience from the USA and many other countries is much more exacting than in Guyana. Here again Mr Suseran is off the rails. The USA has no departure check by immigration and boarding an aircraft is security oriented, as checking is done by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and this exercise could be an unforgettable and trying experience.
Guyana is a small and poor country. Its international airport ‒ CJIA ‒ is as good as or even better than many in its class. Its terminal building is clean, functional and as comfortable as could be expected. Its employees are generally as polite, competent and efficient as those found in any developing country. The departure terminal sidewalk at CJIA is comparatively not cramped and small as claimed. In fact it is slightly bigger than that of International Terminal 4 at JFK. The non-passengers and vehicles which crowd the sidewalk entry area at CJIA should not be there, nor should families be allowed to accompany passengers in restricted areas as is the case with most airports of the world. People elsewhere do not use their airports for excursions and picnic outings, and that is why security guards are there at CJIA to check passengers’ credentials to distinguish them from wanderers before they enter the terminal building for check-in.
During my many trips to Guyana I have never seen immigration lines extending to the tarmac. Therefore Mr Suseran’s claim is no more than an imaginary ‘stretch’. The five immigration officers who are usually on duty are more than adequate to check in a timely manner and with due diligence the status of Shiv Chanderpaul and all those passengers arriving on a Boeing 767. Shiv Chanderpaul who is Guyanese born and was travelling on a foreign passport may have alerted the immigration authorities who have regulatory responsibilities to check his credentials in greater detail, and detained him for further questioning if he had looked suspicious and satisfactory answers were not given to them at the port of entry. After all, it is well known that foreigners as well as Guyanese of all shades and status entering the country usually engage in hanky-panky activities of one sort or another.
Evidently there is room to make CJIA a modern, efficient and tourism attractive airport, but it will not come cheap and contrary to Mr Suseran’s claims Guyana does not have the resources for such extensive improvements. CJIA is providing a service as good as any other developing country’s international airport, and incremental improvements such as extending the runway to accommodate larger aircraft and providing a few buses to ferry passengers from plane to terminal building and vice versa during inclement weather would be worthwhile for a start. Mr Suseran may probably have a few more to add.
Yours faithfully,
Charles Sohan
