Over 500 helicopter flights operated out of Ogle Airport last year – GCAA Head

…as OHGI commits to continued investments in local aviation industry

As the local aviation industry continues its rapid expansion, so does the subsector of helicopter operations, which has recorded more than 500 flights last year at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport at Ogle, East Coast Demerara.
Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Egbert Field, has said the present situation is a stark difference from what had obtained just a few years ago, when helicopter operations stood at just around 50 flights.

Speaking during the one-year anniversary celebration of Omni Helicopters Guyana Inc (OHGI) on Wednesday evening, Colonel Field reflected on the tremendous growth of the local aviation sector since he assumed the role of Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority in 2016.
“In the days when I arrived, there were just about two or three helicopters, Bell 206 helicopters, flying around. Today, look at the type of helicopters which are flying within Guyana; and soon we’ll have them being captained and flown and serviced by Guyanese, and that is a welcoming achievement,” he remarked.
“Out of Ogle, we had 539 flights for helicopters only, last year. Before, we were talking about maybe 40-something flights or 50-something helicopter flights moving through,” he explained.
Just last year, at the end-of-year press conference of the Ministry of Public Works, subject Minister Juan Edghill revealed that Guyana’s aviation industry had not only seen an increase in international airlines operating here, but had also witnessed an increase in the number of aircraft operating in the country, particularly by local operators. In this regard, he had disclosed that airworthiness certificates were approved for a number of new aircraft in Guyana; 4 being granted last year, of which three were for helicopters.
Omni Helicopters Inc (OHI), headquartered in Portugal, had partnered with Roraima Airways to create a Guyanese helicopter company – OHGI – to meet oil and gas standards. Primarily, the company provides services to ExxonMobil Guyana’s offshore operations.
The company had its first flight in Guyana on January 1, 2023, and has since transported more than 50,000 passengers. Moreover, some 50 Guyanese have to date been hired.
Director of Omni Helicopters Guyana Inc., Captain Gerry Gouveia Jr, has said the company aims to become a centre of excellence for the region. He emphasised that the company is not just committed to operating in Guyana, but to investing in the country and its peoples with a goal of always creating opportunities for Guyanese within the aviation industry.
“We, as a company, are not only dedicated to providing our clients (with) a very efficient, reliable, and safe service, but we’re also dedicated to bettering Guyana as a country. We’re committed to working with the Government, working with the people of Guyana, to ensure we become a centre of excellence for the region, and that we develop opportunities and we develop the local Guyanese capabilities so that we can grow in the aviation and energy sectors,” he affirmed.
According to Gouveia Jr., the company has, over the last year, offered several internships for engineering students at the Art Williams & Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School in Guyana, and continues to invest heavily in the training of locals for various fields in the aviation industry.
“We’re dedicated to working with all of these students to promote their on-the-job training, as well as offering employment opportunities… “We’re dedicated to working with the Guyanese (people) to offer opportunities in operations dispatch; aviation security; and, most recently, search and rescue,” he detailed.
The partnership between Omni Helicopters and Roraima Airways began in 2017, when Gouveia Jr met with the company’s executives at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas. “It was back then that we shared a similar interest and similar goal…,” he said.
“Shortly after the CEO directly came to Guyana, we started conceptualising the first Guyanese helicopter company that meets oil and gas standards, and that was in 2017. We then formed the company in 2018; and, well, the rest in history.” (G11)