Local aircraft operators “struggling to stay in business”

As a result of the series of restrictions placed on the local aviation industry in light of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, operators are struggling to stay afloat.

This is according to the Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana (AOAG), which comprises of Trans Guyana Airways, JAGS Aviation, Wings Aviation and Roraima Airways – who is also a member of the National Air Transport Association (NATA).
Following the discovery of its first case of COVID-19, which was imported, Guyana closed its borders, including its air space, and restricted domestic passenger travel to border communities in the hinterland.
Additionally, the Public Health Ministry has imposed restrictions on public transportation, including air transport.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, the Association said, “The fact is that the shutdown of almost all passenger operations in the interior has led to a more-than-50-per cent reduction of all flights and making the removal of VAT (Valued-Added Tax) ineffective and leaving our members struggling to stay in business.”
According to the AOAG, since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, its members have introduced stringent protocols to ensure the safety of their passengers, including 100 per cent temperature testing of all passengers and staff, sanitising of aircraft before every flight, the compulsory wearing of face masks and hand sanitising before passengers and crew board the aircraft. It added too that all cargo was similarly sanitised.
In spite of these strict precautionary protocols being applied, the Association pointed out that the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) has further enforced a 50 per cent passenger restriction on all domestic flights – it was initially set at 75 per cent.
AOAG added that the Task Force further stopped all passenger flights to border destinations, which, inexplicably, have included Matthews Ridge and Port Kaituma in Region One (Barima-Waini) even though these border locations were already closed off and a No-Fly Order was in place for all foreign travellers.
“The Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana has discussed these matters with the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and has advised that the measures being enforced by the COVID-19 Task Force are excessive, given the mitigation measures already in place against the risk of spreading the virus, and that these measures have been taken without sufficient regard for the negative economic impact on the hinterland communities,” the missive outlined.

Punitive COVID-19 restrictions
In fact, the AOAG noted that while Guyana’s domestic airlines are suffering from punitive COVID-19 restrictions and are being threatened with Government control, Governments in other countries are moving to bail out airlines in financial trouble resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. No such move has been made locally.
“The AOAG must also point out that while these restrictions are being placed on aviation traffic to border areas, there is ample evidence that there is little or no enforcement in place on the ground as passenger vehicles and boats continue to operate freely at these locations,” the Aviation Association contended.
Meanwhile, the AOAG has also refuted allegations that its members have increased their passenger and freight prices as a result of the restrictions imposed on the industry by the COVID-19 Task Force through the GCAA.
“The Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana completely rejects the assertions made… by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) accusing all domestic aviation operators of increasing airfares and is shocked that the Authority should do so without first checking the facts,” it posited.
Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) member Michael McGarrell has raised concerns over the increase in passenger and freight fares by domestic operator Air Services Limited (ASL). He had disclosed that a flight from the Eugene F Correia International Airport at Ogle, East Coast Demerara, to Paramakatoi, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) is $68,000, while a flight back to the city is $41,800 – a roundtrip cost of $109,800. Freight charges were increased from $130 to $290 per pound.
While ASL Executive Annette Arjoon-Martins had defended the move, saying it was “uneconomical” to operate flights under the imposed measures especially since fewer passengers were travelling due to the restrictions, GCAA Director General Egbert Field had condemned the act.
But according to AOAG, it is unfortunate that DG Field should use terms such as “unconscionable” and “unscrupulous” to describe the entire domestic aviation industry based on a complaint made by the APA, referring only to ASL, which was operating exclusively at the time in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).
Nevertheless, the Aviation Association said it understood the concerns expressed by the APA and the Government with regard to food and freight supplies to Region Eight, and has decided to immediately look at introducing flights to provide relief in this area.