British Airways (BA) yesterday made its inaugural scheduled flight to Guyana from the UK as it commenced its twice-weekly operations.
Its predecessor, British Overseas Airways Corpo-ration (BOAC) had last flown here 42 years ago. BA is a major addition to the carriers serving Guyana.
The airline will fly from Gatwick Airport to Guyana twice weekly on Mondays & Thursdays via St Lucia. The service to Cheddi Jagan International Air-port, Timehri also operates as a “tag on” on BA’s service from Gatwick to Saint Lucia.
Arriving at dusk at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) there was palpable excitement among officials of the three countries. Steel pan music filled the air and represen-tatives of the United Kingdom High Commis-sion here and St Lucia and Guyana governments wel-comed passengers for the first time. The atmosphere was electric and passen-gers underscored that the flight was “exciting.”
British Airways, the official flag carrier of the UK, announced in August last year their plans to ply the route which has seen increased traffic since the country’s commencement of oil and gas operations. These flights here will offer not only connections to multiple destinations but extensive tourism and business opportunities for Guyanese entities.
The airline is utilising a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft catering for 332 passengers per flight. While there is much talk of the new ser-vice for passengers, Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill who has res-ponsibility for the aviation sector, pointed out that operations on the route will facilitate greater trade activities.
“… The profit in airlines is not the passengers it is in cargo, and our agricultural sector is gearing up to be able to ship our products to various parts of the world,” Edghill said as he announced that adequate mechanisms are being put in place to facilitate such trade.
Edghill expanded by saying that government is working to implement the necessary phytosanitary facilities to ensure Guy-anese products are trans-ported to different parts of the globe.
In his feature address, Edghill also signalled that the UK flag carrier will not be the only European airline operating in Guyana as they are working on new deals to attract more airlines.
“Make no mistake this will not be the only Euro-pean airline that will fly into Guyana. Guyana will become so busy sooner or later you won’t be able to get seats,” he added. He assured the Canadian diaspora that they are working on attracting an airline to operate on the Guyana- Canada route.
He added that while they were using the numbers to solidify their arguments to attract the airlines here, the removal of the UK visa requirement “makes more sense” as it encourages and promotes more travel.
The minister said that Guyana’s passenger arrival figure has escalated sharply since they decided to reopen the airports in 2020.
“We are now 25% above the pre pandemic numbers in Guyana. We are growing and we will continue to grow,” he stated as he announced that they are focused on growing routes from Guyana.
Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, while speaking at the welcoming ceremony, said the inaugural flight on the route puts the government closer to achieving the objective of Guyana being a part of the global travel network.
“The British Airways Flight connects Guyana to the UK and the wider European continent. Providing more than 33,000 seats annually. It complements our direct connections to the Caribbean principally through Barbados and Trinidad to North America to Florida, New York, to Central America to Panama. Connecting the world to Guyana remains the priority of this government.” Walrond said.
According to her, government sees the operations of more airlines in Guyana as part of their wider strategic economic objective. This will allow for Guyana to be more easily accessed and affordable for all sectors of business.
The operation on the route, the Minister said is not only welcomed by adventurers and businesspeople but the large diaspora in the UK.
Further, she stated that the pit stop in St. Lucia also presents great opportunities and promotes inter-regional travel.
Guyana, she said, will be collaborating with St. Lucia to capitalise on the opportunities that can arise from sharing the route.
“Recognising the potential we have begun tourism product twinning with St. Lucia, combining two distinct appealing experiences and bringing the best of two worlds into one package,” the Minister said.
Walrond is currently in St. Lucia on official engagements to look at ways in which the experience on the route can be enhanced.
St Lucia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ernest Hilaire in brief remarks stated that his country has a lot to offer Guyana and the operations by BA foster collaboration in the tourism and hospitality sector.
He said that while this is a milestone for Guyana it is also one for his island as it is the first direct connection between the two CARICOM territories. This he said will allow for easier travel and offers a unique package to tourists and nationals of both countries.
“We are the world-leading honeymoon destination and Guyana is the Caribbean’s leading destination for adventure… so we have developed our product for St. Lucia and we certainly look forward to working with you. We have met your minister and I am sure under her leadership tourism will go a far way,” the Deputy Prime Minister said as he spoke of the potential for deepening relations.
David Rutley, UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, who was also on the flight and is currently in Guyana on official business, stated that the new operations cement the bilateral relationship between the two nations. He added that the launch of the service heralds a new era in the countries’ relationship.
UK High Commissioner, Jane Miller, who teared up as the aircraft landed said yesterday’s inaugural flight is a result of hard work and working towards a common goal.
“In my role as High Commissioner, I did many exciting and important things but today, it feels transformative,” she said beaming with fulfillment.
Meantime, BA’s VP of Airports East USA, Latin America and the Caribbean, Ian Blackman said that they are elated to serve this route and offer a direct connection between St. Lucia and Guyana.
He also announced that the airline is working on ways to reduce its carbon emissions and is encouraging passengers to do the same.
“We are making progress on our journey to get there… to give our customers more choice, once they are booked they can calculate their travel emissions online. They can then have the option to purchase any high quality carbon offsets from certified …projects before or after their flight,” he pointed out and said that this feature, dovetails quite nicely with Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy.
Negotiations between the parties moved swiftly after President Irfaan Ali and Walrond visited the UK in April last year. At the start of the pandemic, British Airways operated chartered flights to ferry offshore oil and gas workers between Guyana and Europe.
