By Antonio Dey
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill yesterday said that passenger movements to and from Guyana saw a 77.9% growth for the year 2022, moving from 399,483 in 2021 to 710,563 in 2022.
He disclosed these statistics during the National Aviation Safety Seminar facilitated by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority at the Pegasus Hotel. The subject minister said that utilization of international air freight services also grew by approximately 4.7% in 2022.
“We must all acknowledge the fact that aviation is growing exponentially, there is growth in freight traffic whereas, in 2022, international freight recorded 4.7%, that is 9,797 metric tons as compared to 9,354 metric tons in 2021”, Edghill said. According to Edghill, for the Eugene F Correia International Airport, the total international passenger traffic grew by 82% in 2022 recording 53,315 passengers as compared to 29,290 in 2021. He noted that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri witnessed a passenger traffic increase of 77.5% in 2022 recording 657,249 passengers as compared to 370,187 in 2021.
Referring to the Ministry of Finance’s 2023 Mid-Year report, Edghill highlighted that in the first six months of 2023, Guyana welcomed 149,020 visitors, an increase of 16.2 percent when compared with the same period last year. The highest number of arrivals was recorded in March and April. These peaks were attributed to an increase in travel from the business sector as well as returning Guyanese for the Easter holidays. Of the visitors recorded over this period, those from the United States and the Caribbean accounted for the largest shares, 47 and 26 percent respectively. With events such as the Cricket Carnival, International Building Expo, Agri Expo, and GuyExpo which took place recently, it is anticipated that visitor arrivals will surpass the previous record of 314,727 visitors observed in 2019.
The mid-year report stated that increased visitor arrivals were largely facilitated by improved access to Guyana. In February, Fly Allways commenced flights from Guyana to Barbados, Cuba, Jamaica, and Suriname. This was followed by British Airways, which began its twice-weekly operations in March, which served to provide a direct connection from the United Kingdom and Europe. Against this background, the minister said that the local aviation sector is experiencing upward mobility and urged all aviators to treat national aviation safety as a priority. “You have thousands of lives at stake every day. When we go to work, when we give guidance to aircraft, when we service aircraft, to ensure that they are serviceable and worthy of flying. Owners and operators cannot afford to cut corners, inspectors cannot afford to be blind or selective in their observation. We have to ensure that safety comes first,” he urged.
As more than 95% of domestic aviation is between coastland and hinterland regions, the Public Works minister said that in the wake of the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy air safety should never be undermined.
“I made this point to say if Venezuela is allowed with its false and disruptive plans to forcefully take Essequibo unlawfully, it means that there will be a significant disruption to our aviation services because Essequibo is the region where most of our aviation activities take place and that should not be taken for granted,” Edghill admonished.
Statistics show that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri processed 50,000 more passengers so far this year compared to the corresponding period last year. The 405,000 passengers processed in 2023 reflects a 14 per cent increase, compared to what was recorded in 2022, according to Edghill. The increase in passenger numbers is due to the increased airlift by the existing carriers, and the entrance of British Airways to the Guyana market in March. Passenger movements are projected to rise further when the Sky Cana Airline commences flight operations to Houston, Texas and Canada. On the other hand, an additional 1,330,000 kilograms of cargo was processed in 2023 compared to 2022. Cargo exports increased by 450,000 kilograms or 54 per cent compared to last year. The increase in cargo numbers is a result of increased imports in oilfield equipment and ship spares, while exports in agro-products increased exponentially.
Chile’s LATAM Cargo now provides freight service between Houston/Miami, and Guyana and has moved 133,000 kilograms of cargo since May 9, 2023.
Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar said the Government of Guyana is currently working to automate the arrival and departure processes by introducing biometric kiosks and electronic gates. This project has commenced and is expected to be completed in early 2024. Indar also stressed the importance of putting mechanisms in place in the event of pilots experiencing immense fatigue, while transporting passengers. He referred to fatigue risk management system (FRMS) which is a set of management practices for identifying and controlling fatigue-related risks. The use of this approach has been widely adopted internationally in the last two decades. More recently, in the U.S., FRMSs have been effectively incorporated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration.
Indar said that many times human fatigue is the root cause of aircraft accidents/incidents. Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, (Ret’d) Lt. Colonel Egbert Field, also in his remarks stressed the importance of maintaining high standards, in the aviation sector. He said in 2020, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), conducted a safety oversight audit of the country’s Aviation Sector, and said it had a compliance rate of 77%. “In 2021, the South American Office of ICAO in conducting their analysis realized that Guyana, using their mathematical formula for safety oversight index, a mathematical formula that compares a state’s effective implementation, its traffic volumes and the number of departures and accident rate, they assessed Guyana as number one among the 35 states of Latin America, North America, South America and the Caribbean,” he informed.
The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, which falls under the Ministry of Public Works is responsible for managing and regulating the aviation sector in Guyana, ensuring their compliance with international standards. The Authority regulates and manages the aviation sector through the Civil Aviation Act (2018), the Civil Aviation (Air Navigation) Regulations 2001, the Air Transport (Licensing of Air Transport Services) Regulations 2001, The Civil Aviation (Security) Regulation 2004 and Civil Aviation (Air Traffic Services and Rules of the Air) Regulations 2006 made under the act.
