The sudden decision by Trans Guyana Airways to suspend flights indefinitely to the North Rupununi has left residents cut off and concerns have been expressed over the effect on tourism in the district.
Vice-Chairman of the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB) Mike Williams told Stabroek News that not only was the suspension indefinite, it was not publicly announced.
This newspaper made several attempts to contact Trans Guyana for a comment on the situation. However, those attempts proved futile.
Williams explained that he too made attempts to ascertain the reason for the suspension which became effective close to three weeks ago, to no avail.
Williams said, “We didn’t find out until about three weeks ago when I attempted to book a flight for one of the workers to travel to the city. It was never really made known to us the reason for the sudden stop. All they told me is that there would be no flights to Annai until further notice.”
He said that when he contacted Trans Guyana agents at Rock View Lodge, they too claimed that they are unaware of the reason for the suspension.
And with Trans Guyana being the sole airline that operates the Georgetown to Annai route, persons travelling to the city are now forced to make the three-hour journey to Central Lethem to get on a flight.
This, Williams said, comes at a time where the road to Lethem may be in an unfavourable condition due to the constant rainfall.
“We are now in the rainy season, what is going to happen if the vehicle breaks down on the way to Lethem? We’ll miss our flights,” Williams said.
Also of concern, is the potential effect the suspended flights would have on tourism in the North Rupununi.
Williams said, “We have several villages here like Rewa, Iwokrama, Surama and Rock View… that depend on tourists flying in on these flights. We are concerned that the absence of these flights would affect the tourism in this part of the Rupununi.”
He suggested that the reason for the situation may be the fact that the Annai Airstrip is due to undergo works sometime later this year. However, he said, even if that were the case the pullout seemed premature, adding that the airline had previously operated at the same airstrip under less favourable conditions.
