Following a decision to reopen Guyana’s two international airports on October 12, Prime Minister, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips has announced that protocols are being developed to ensure safe travel.
At a recent press conference, it was noted that Government’s consideration for the reopening stemmed from a great demand. Officials have since been working to implement safety guidelines, in keeping with the scheduled timeline.
Prime Minister, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips
“There is a demand for the reopening of the airports. In a simple sense, that is what has led to starting discussions. However, we will not just reopen the airports. There are a number of protocols that we have to put in place…No reopening before 12th October and we will take the opportunity between now and the 12th to put the protocols in place,” Phillips insisted.
He noted that while the decided protocols will be shared with the public, one of the key elements of travelling into Guyana is a negative PCR test from the prospective travellers.
“The bottom line is no one will travel into Guyana without first doing a COVID-19 PCR and having tested negative. If you test positive, you cannot come to Guyana.”
Guyana’s borders, including its two international airports – the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri, East Bank Demerara, and the Eugene F Correia International Airport at Ogle, East Coast Demerara – were closed since March 18 in an effort to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Given the airports’ closure, special permission had to be granted by local authorities over the past months for special repatriation flights. Initially, only departure flights were being allowed, to take foreign nationals who were stranded in Guyana back home. However, in recent months, relief flights were operated to bring home thousands of Guyanese who were left stranded in various countries overseas amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and thousands of Guyanese, including students, have since returned from New York, Miami, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Canada, St Maarten, Jamaica, Suriname, Grenada and Curacao.
Since taking office in August, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has increased the number repatriation flights, and has even created a schedule of flights to be operated by Eastern Airlines from Guyana to New York and Miami.
In order to be able to travel to Guyana, travellers must complete the electronic repatriation form available on the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) website. Additionally, a molecular biological PCR test for COVID-19 must be completed, and the negative result sent to the relevant authorities.
The GCAA has also implemented a series of safety measures and guidelines for persons entering and leaving the country. However, with the country’s main port of entry closed for several months, the CJIA has taken a hit – losing approximately $200 million every month since the closure in mid-March.
Last month, Chief Executive Officer of the CJIA, Ramesh Ghir confirmed that the CJIA Corporation lost just over $1 billion in revenues thus far this year. This, he told Guyana Times, can be attributed to income generated from both passenger movement and airport operation.
Ghir explained that operations for the first three months of the year were good, but during the period April to July 2020, passenger traffic declined by 228,936, or 95 per cent, when compared to the same period in 2019.
In regard to the movement of cargo, while the airport is closed to passenger movements, cargo operations continued, albeit in a limited manner. For cargo imports, there was a 19 per cent reduction from 3,101,936 kilograms to 2,501,345 kilograms. Meanwhile, cargo exports have declined by 22 per cent from 1,652,028 kilograms to 1,294,391 kilograms. (G12)
