Yacoob Mazaharally, the legendary aviation trailblazer whose ingenuity and vision gave rise to Air Services Limited (ASL), one of the country’s largest domestic airlines, has passed away. His passing marks the end of an era for a man whose life was a story of ambition, innovation, and national transformation.
The late Yacoob Mazaharally
The funeral arrangements have been released by the Central Islamic Organization of Guyana (CIOG). A public viewing will take place on Tuesday, July 22, at the MYO Compound, Woolford Avenue from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., followed by Janazah prayers at Queenstown Masjid at 1:15 p.m. Burial will be held in Lethem, Region Nine, a fitting farewell in the heart of Guyana’s hinterland — a region he helped connect to the rest of the nation.
Mazaharally’s journey began in the 1960s when, as a timber entrepreneur in British Guiana, he recognized the need to access deep interior concessions. Rather than rely on unreliable transport, he became a licensed pilot, acquired a four-seater Darter Air Commander, and personally built airstrips across the hinterland.
According to a friend, what began as a timber logistics solution soon evolved into a passion that transformed a country.
Yacoob’s single aircraft venture expanded over decades into Air Services Limited (ASL) — now boasting a 22-aircraft fleet, a helicopter unit, a modern flight school, and daily lifeline routes to Guyana’s remotest communities.
He introduced Cessna 206s, Britten-Norman Islanders, and eventually Cessna Grand Caravans that now ferry thousands of passengers and cargo annually.
ASL played a critical role in Guyana’s medivac services, saving countless lives. From flying critically ill patients to delivering babies mid-flight, Mazaharally’s fleet became the unsung hero of Guyana’s medical system.
In 2003, he founded one of Guyana’s most advanced GCAA-approved flight schools, equipping a new generation of pilots with the knowledge and skills to continue soaring. His school featured a modern simulator and training aircraft, a first in local aviation.
His son, Captain Mohamed Yacoob Mazaharally Ally, would go on to become Chief Pilot of ASL, cementing the family’s multigenerational legacy.
Under Yacoob’s leadership, ASL built critical aviation infrastructure across Guyana. In Mahdia, ASL’s hangar and cargo hub move an average of 350,000 pounds of goods monthly — a lifeline to interior communities. By 2011, ASL even launched its own fuel farm, and in 2012, it became Guyana’s first locally owned helicopter operator — a record-setting achievement in the country’s 100-year aviation history.
Earlier this month, just before Mazaharally’s death, Air Services Limited officially commissioned the brand-new airstrip – opening skies to new possibilities for the farming community of Handsome Tree, Mahaica.
