The Aircraft Owners’ Association of Guyana (AOAG) yesterday welcomed moves by the civil aviation body to strengthen its capacity and said that many hinterland airstrips are still failing to meet the standards.
In a statement, the AOAG said that while it accepts that the government has increased investment in developing interior aerodromes, navigational facilities and weather forecasting “the fact remains that many hinterland airstrips still fail to meet the regulatory standards” set by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) . In addition, aircraft tracking systems such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADSB) remain to be fully operational.
“It is because of the frequently hostile and extremely dangerous conditions under which aircraft operators conduct hinterland shuttle flights from hinterland locations that the Director of Civil Aviation has quite properly demanded operators manage these away from base operations to a standard specifically developed to ensure maximum possible safety”, the AOAG said.