With the reopening of our international airports, Roraima Group of Companies has begun rehiring employees who it was forced to lay off when the airports closed back in March.
For the last seven months, the company has seen a tremendous decline in revenue as it was out of operation.
Roraima Airways provides ground handling services for American Airlines and Eastern Airlines and also operates domestic and charter services out of the Eugene F Correia International Airport (EFCIA).
Chief Executive Officer, Gerry Gouveia, in brief telephone interview with Stabroek News, indicated that at least 75 per cent of the employees, who were asked to take no pay leave have been rehired. They have also hired some new employees.
According to Gouveia, the company’s ground handling operations have been ramping up with increased flights.
However, he was quick to note that while flights are coming into the country, most are for business and not leisure. On this note, he said the tourism sector is still feeling the brunt of COVID-19.
He added that with government’s emphasis on local content development, airlines are now being asked to use local caterers. This has had a positive impact on his company as it is able to provide employment through this means and cushion the revenue loss from other avenues.
The hotels Duke Lodge and Roraima Inn and the restaurant and bars are not operating at maximum capacity due to the small of amount of visitors entering the country.
In March, Gouveia had said that they informed the staff by way of a general letter that they were restructuring to adopt to COVID-19 changes. “We are not terminating our staff. People will go off on their leave now as an option and that sort of thing. In other areas, where nothing is happening at our hotels and restaurants, the staff will have to be sent home for the three-month period without pay,” he had said.
The confirmation of the novel coronavirus here has caused a sharp decline in business activities, compounding the slowdown that began after the March 2 general elections. That situation has now changed as the country has relaxed its curfew and is slowly reopening to accommodate business.
The hospitality industry has been uneasy as some operators continue to grapple with trying to stay afloat while acting in the best interest of their staff.
Thousands of jobs are on the line, not only from the hotels, resorts, restaurants, cafes, and bars, but also from the related aviation and transportation sectors, should the situation take a turn for the worse.
President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) Mitra Ramkumar, had told Stabroek News that the presence of COVID-19 here is a tremendous blow to the tourism sector as persons are cancelling their travel plans.
