In what is a clear sign that the government has given up on options for an indigenous airline, Guyana on Wednesday conferred flag carrier status for the country on Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines, the Government information Agency reported.
The move came amid two spectacular failures by airlines which had been servicing the Guyana route: Barbados-based REDjet and the local charter EZjet. A series of other airlines here had failed prior to these two.
GINA last night reported that “on instructions from President Donald Ramotar and the Cabinet, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn on Wednesday accorded flag carrier status to Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL). This proclamation was made when the airline launched its inaugural non-stop flight from Guyana to Canada.”
According to GINA, Chairman of CAL, Rabindra Moonan, Chief Executive Officer,
Robert Corbie, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Irfaan Ali, and other officials were present at the ceremony held at the Executive Lounge at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri.
The flag carrier move complements the planned CJIA expansion to the terminal and runway, GINA noted.
It said that initially, there will be two flights from Guyana to Canada, and as the peak season approaches, the number will increase for both Canada and New York.
Minister Benn in making reference to the fall-out from EZjet and previously RedJet, stated that Guyana wants to make sure that it has continuing links with the diaspora in North America and Canada.
Benn acknowledged that while there have been ups and downs, CAL has always been a stable partner.
CAL’s Chairman said the Toronto move had been in the making for a number of years and this decision has received great responses from Guyanese in Toronto. In this regard, he said CAL was very proud to be a part of history in the making.
Moonan stated that while CAL is in the business to gain a profit, the airline would not be unscrupulous when dealing with the travelling public. “We would look at market prices, market forces and our prices will be dictated by that… one thing I would give the assurance that the level in which we offer will be unsurpassed,” he said, according to GINA.
