Trans Guyana Airways (TGA) decided to discontinue flights to Annai in the North Rupununi to curtail the financial losses being suffered as a result of a lack of passengers travelling to that area, according to its Public Relations Consultant Kit Nascimento.
Stabroek News, on June 11, had carried an article highlighting residents’ concern that TGA’s sudden decision to suspend flights indefinitely to the North Rupununi had left them cut off and would have an effect on tourism in the district.
Vice-Chairman of the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB) Mike Williams had told Stabroek News that not only was the suspension indefinite, it was not publicly announced.
However, Nascimento said yesterday that a decision made since last September to discontinue flights not only to Annai but also Karanambu and that notice was given to all of the relevant bodies since then.
“Since last September I informed the Ministry of Tourism, the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) and all of the destinations in the Rupununi which we serviced over the years that we will be discontinuing flights to both Annai and Karanambu by the end of February this year,” he said.
Nascimento explained that the decision to discontinue flights to Annai and Karanambu came as a result of the aviation company flying at a loss owing to a dearth of passengers for its scheduled flights.
“For some time now, there has not been enough passengers to fill the flights… TGA has been subsidising flights from since last year.
Other operators do not run scheduled flights. TGA was the only one running that schedule for the areas,” he explained.
He reiterated that because notice of plans to discontinue flights to the areas was given since last year, it was unfair to say that no public announcement was made.
Further, he noted that flights to Annai and Karanambu were only finally halted on June 8, months after the period of notice expired.
“So all this time, TGA were flying at a loss… For Mr Williams to say notice was not given, it is simply not true…
“So as I said before, this should come as no surprise to anyone that TGA has decided to discontinue flights to the Annai and Karanambu areas,” he added
Williams had told this newspaper that he did not find out about the discontinuation until about three weeks ago when he attempted to book a flight for a worker to travel to the city.
He said that when he contacted Trans Guyana agents at Rock View Lodge, they too claimed that they were unaware of the reason for the suspension.
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.”
Residents of Annai and surrounding areas must now make a three-hour journey to Central Lethem to get on a flight at a time where the road to Lethem may be in an unfavourable condition due to the constant rainfall.
Meanwhile, Nascimento also noted that servicing the two areas is an obligation of the entire domestic aviation sector and not just TGA.
“If anyone wishes, they can charter ASL or Roraima or any of the others should they have sufficient passengers to fill the flights,” Nascimento posited.
“You have to ask what THAG is doing about it; what the other airlines are doing to pick up the flights,” he added.
And while TGA has discontinued flights to those areas, it has substantially increased flights to Lethem with its Beechcraft plane and hopes to add another one to the flight schedule in the near future. Nascimento noted that not only is the Beechcraft faster, it also has a larger passenger capacity and is safer than the other smaller planes.
