British Airways to commence operation in Guyana on March 27

The inaugural flight for British Airways to Guyana is set for March 27, 2023, according to Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation, Lt Col (Ret’d) Egbert Field.
During a telephone interview with Guyana Times Colonel Field related that all systems are in place to welcome British Airways’ first flight to Guyana. The announcement about the airways entering the Guyanese market was made in August 2022, soon after which tickets went on sale.
However, Col Field explained that the approved route for the new airline will be from London to St Lucia and then to Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
“This will be the same route going back… what you will see happening is that the aircraft will spend about an hour at the Hewanorra International Airport in St Lucia.”
This will be done twice weekly.
In addition, Field noted that with this new route and the new airline coming on stream, it will provide competition among the other carriers.
“As you know presently, the fares are very exorbitant and with airlines coming to Guyana, it definitely will attract competition which will ultimately force airlines to lower their fares,” Field added.

The bond and other financial contractual agreements between Guyana and British Airways will be handled by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and other agencies.
“What we are responsible for is that the airline must be in compliance with international standards since safety comes first… and from all indications, the Boeing 777 aircraft has passed all inspections,” Col Field told Guyana Times.
The aircraft has the capacity to transport 332 passengers and crew.
At the launch back in August, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had stated that British Airways operating out of Guyana is a “game changer” since it will double the number of passengers other carriers that operate out of CJIA.
He also stated that the cost of fights is also expected to be cheaper due to the size of the aircraft that will be plying this route.
In the past, the Boeing 777 aircraft could not have operated out of CJIA but with the recent upgrades they can now comfortably land.
“This puts into perspective exactly why we did not accept the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) the way it was being envisaged and constructed when we came into Government because a plane using a 200ER equipment would not have been able to operate out of CJIA because the boarding bridges would not have been able to accommodate that.”
He had stated that with the extensions “we were able to get China Harbour to put in place at their cost which will accommodate the code D and code E type aircraft we can now accommodate these huge white body carriers bringing 332 passengers on board at a time.”
Meanwhile, a few months after the announcement of British Airways coming to Guyana, a decision was taken by the UK Government to remove visitor visa requirements for Guyanese to travel to their country, for up to six months.
This agreement was lauded by both the Guyana Government and the private sector since they have been pushing for the removal of visa restrictions for Guyanese to travel to the UK for some time.
Nevertheless, with the new service, new opportunities will be forthcoming between the two nations which will ultimately strengthen bilateral relations.