Roraima Airways rejects suggestion of any ‘racket”

Dear Editor,
Roraima Airways rejects the article, published on Friday in the media, in which it was reported that “investigations into the recent deadly aircraft accidents have so far uncovered essentially what appears to be an ongoing racket with domestic air carriers conducting shuttle flights into the interior.”
The article is based on information emanating from a press conference held recently by the Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Col. (ret’d) Egbert Field.
Roraima Airways in unaware of any such statement or suggestion being made publicly or privately by the Director General. It is our hope that both the news agency and the Director General would address the suggestion of “what appears to be an ongoing racket”.
Far from there being any racket, the provision of air shuttle service by domestic air carriers – and more specifically, the service provided by Roraima Airways — represents a lawful and legitimate activity which remains critical to the social and economic wellbeing of the communities in our hinterland.
As we have pointed out in the past, the air shuttle service, especially between Eteringbang and Ekereku, was introduced following collapse of the Guyana Airways Corporation (GAC), which previously offered subsidized cargo service to the hinterland from Timehri International Airport.
Because of the prohibitive costs of flying fuel and other supplies from Georgetown to remote locations such as Eteringbang, miners and other businesspersons utilize the country’s network of roads and trails to truck supplies into such locations. From there, these supplies are shuttled via aircraft to locations which are not accessible by road. The average flying time — in this case, between Eteringbang and Ekereku – is between 12 and 15 minutes.
The arrangements for the transport of supplies to these remote areas, as outlined here, provide for mining and other legitimate business activities to be cost-efficient and sustainable, thereby providing employment for many, while at the same time contributing to the nation’s economic development.
The air shuttle service is therefore indispensable, and remains a critical, legitimate and lawful activity. It is unfortunate that Kaieteur News would print such an article, suggesting that this service constitutes a racket.
Additionally, Roraima Airways wishes to make clear that no laws or regulations are violated regarding the provision of our shuttle service. Suggestions and insinuations that the late Capt. Martin would have flown for extraordinary long hours is downright untrue.
The facts are as follows: (A) Captain Martin had a day off the Monday prior to Tuesday’s tragedy.
(B) Capt. Martin departed Ogle at 10:30h for Eteringbang, an 85-minute flight.
(C) Capt. Martin flew 9 shuttles, or 18 flights, between Eteringbang and Ekereku that day, each flight being for a duration of 12 minutes, a total of 216 minutes, or 3 hours 36 minutes. This includes the flight back to Eteringbang which regrettably claimed his life.
(D) Capt. Martin’s total flying time for that day did not exceed any local or international provision regarding his number of flying hours that day.
It is indeed regrettable that there would be suggestions that Roraima Airways, let alone Capt. Martin himself, would put his life at risk by flying for exceedingly long hours, in contravention of established provisions and regulations.
There have also been suggestions that the aircraft may have been overloaded. Capt. Martin’s accident happened as he was flying back to Eteringbang from Ekereku, a flight which is empty, as supplies are shuttled in the opposite direction.
We also want to advise the general public — and especially our customers — that our fleet of aircraft undergoes routine maintenance every 50 flying hours, and that maintenance and repairs are conducted as soon as any issue arises. Additionally, our pilots do a routine check of the aircraft prior to every flight. We also maintain at our Ogle base a state-of-the art tracking system which allows our staff to keep track of the movements of our aircraft at all times.

Sincerely,
Captain Gerry
Gouveia
CEO
Roraima Airways