Another US airline eyes Guyana route
…Patterson says CJIA expansion project on course for yearend finish
ANOTHER major United States-based airline has expressed interest in plying the Georgetown-Miami and Georgetown-New York routes by year-end, Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson announced on Monday.
He was at the time speaking on the ‘Let’s Gyaff’ morning show aired on the National Communications Network’s (NCN) Voice of Guyana (VOG) radio. Patterson said, “American Airlines is here and there is another American-based airline that has said they want to be put our schedule on for the end of this year. I won’t announce their name but you could guess who it is.”
The minister was at the time giving an update on the ongoing works to expand the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA),Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD). Monday’s disclosure follows an announcement by American Airlines in March that it intends to start operations here by year-end.
In a statement, the airline had said its customers are looking for warm climates come winter, along with history and culture and as such it is offering access to three new cities in South America: Georgetown, Guyana; Pereira, Columbia and Cordoba, Argentina. “We’re creating a world-class customer experience and as the largest U.S. carrier in Mexico and South America, we are committed to offering more choices with the best schedules for our customers in the region,” said Vasu Raja, vice president, Network and Schedule Planning.
The airline is expected to operate the Georgetown, Miami route. Meanwhile, Patterson said that by year end, Guyana will be sporting one of the most modern airports in this part of the world. He disclosed that the airport will have all the modern conveniences while adding that focus is not only on the interior of the airport but also the exterior.
Meanwhile, Minister Patterson explained that work will be done to construct another roundabout at the airport, as well as the installation of an additional parking lot and several outdoor concessionaires. “As soon as we are finished we will go to a second phase of work which would be funded by the government and the airport, which is outdoor concessionaires. We want to have a pleasant atmosphere,” Patterson stated.
He said work on the airport is moving apace, noting that the project is divided into three phases. In the first phase, the airport’s runway is being extended. He said this aspect of the project is almost complete. Only the south western section of the runway is to be completed; that section is scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of this year.
Upon completion of the expansion project, the runway which is presently 2270 metres will be extended by 710 metres to the north-east and 840 metres to the south-west to accommodate almost every large aircraft, while the terminal building, which received facelifts in the 1960s and 1990s, will be transformed into a state-of-the-art facility.
With an extended runway, the country’s aviation operators will be able to entice and attract larger transatlantic aircraft, which means that the passenger flow will be significantly increased.
In the second phase, the new arrivals building will be completed, and according to the minister, that section of the airport is scheduled to be opened in June. When completed, Patterson said two boarding bridges will be operational. An additional two bridges are en route to Guyana and the minister noted that all four of the boarding bridges will become operational as air traffic increases.
MPS TO VISIT AIRPORT
Members of Parliament are scheduled to tour the facility on Friday. In February, President David Granger, along with some members of his cabinet had toured the airport. “The existing terminal will be converted to a departure lounge with increased duty free concessionaires–increased eating accommodation, and seating accommodation. That is of course being done in phases as the airport has to remain operational. At the end of this month we would be handing over half of the new departure section and where you actually use now will be renovated,” said Patterson.
He said the other half of the departure section is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of the year. “The end product will be a new terminal building with four boarding bridges, a runway that could take any class of commercial airline travelling now and a new departure lounge,” the Public Infrastructure Minister said, noting that upon completion Guyana’s runway is likely to be one of the longest in the Caribbean, if not the longest.
“By the end of this year, you would have an airport which you are very proud of,” he said, alluding to the fact that the number of persons visiting Guyana has increased tremendously over the past two years. Thus far for 2018, some 7500 persons arrived at the CJIA. The key components of the airport expansion project are two passenger boarding bridges, a CCTV system with approximately 300 cameras, a 13,737-square-metre terminal building area, 32 check-in counters and a 450-seat departure area, as well as elevators and escalators. The airport will also be outfitted with kiosks to facilitate self-check in, in an effort to save time.
“The interest in Guyana is phenomenal and obviously we now have to rise to the challenge- if people want to come here, we have to show them that we know we are the next big thing and we have to act like we are the next big thing,” declared Patterson.
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