“The benefits of this venture is tremendous for this country…Caribbean Airlines has been serving Guyana for over 70 years and through the good and bad times they have been here … been our most reliable connection with the Caribbean and the rest of the world,” Gouveia- the owner of local airline, Roraima Airways and a former head of the Private Sector Commis-sion told Stabroek News.
The Government Informa-tion Agency (GINA) had reported that last week, Guyana flag carrier status was bestowed on CAL. “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),” GINA had reported. The proclamation was made when the airline launched its inaugural non-stop flight from Guyana to Canada at a simple ceremony at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
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.
Minister Benn in making reference to the fall-out from EZjet and previously REDjet had stated that Guyana wants to make sure that it has continuing links with the Diaspora in North America and Canada. Benn had acknowledged that while there have been ups and downs; CAL has always been a stable partner.
This was echoed by Gouveia who also described CAL’s safety mechanisms as second to none, globally. He stated that at a time when the airline industry has been fragile and unpredictable, the Caribbean needs to plan accordingly and suggested that CAL be made into the Region’s carrier. “CAL is a Caribbean carrier and I think they are also one of the safest airlines in the world. Particularly we need to rationalize what is happening in aviation in the Caribbean …rather than every country in the Caribbean wanting to have their own national airline, we should all try to press to have one Caribbean airline,” he said.
As for the inter-Caribbean airline, LIAT, Gouviea feels that they should act as CAL’s feeder into the smaller islands.
“We talk about Caricom and one market and CSME and this is how we need to live it,” he asserted.
Gouveia also urged government to exhaust its due diligence processes when allowing new airlines into the country as the results in the past have been devastating for citizens. “Every time we have smaller carriers or ‘fly by night’ carriers enter the market place, they dislocate and disorient the fare structure and the stability of that structure …with (airlines) Delta, Suriname Airways, and CAL, I think will bring a level of stability to the market place. It will allow us to expand our reach and will allow us to have a more reliable air transportation system out of Guyana,” he said.
