Large number of foreigners denied entry at CJIA cause airline worry
By Jomo Paul
[www.inewsguyana.com] – One airline is reporting that close to 60 foreign nationals from different countries have been denied entry into Guyana in recent months.
This was revealed at an Insel Air press conference on Friday, where local representative Captain Gerry Gouveia lamented the ineffectiveness of the current immigration system at the Chieddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
Gouveia told media operatives with the advent of new airlines covering new air routes to and from Guyana has led to a change in passengers arrival profile. This development, he claims, has not been met satisfactorily by the Immigration Department.
“Our own immigration needs to ramp up their methodologies of dealing with the new immigration dispensation in Guyana,” said Gouveia.
Insel Air has been expanding its network and routes which has led an influx of persons from different countries.
He said that one of the ways the government could work to avert the denial of entry by persons is by making its immigration policies pellucid and available to the entire airlines network.
“They should set our clear guidelines. If you are going to issue visas on arrival then you need to have very clear guidelines…so that agents across the world clearly understand what the criteria is so that people do not meet here and find out that they do not meet the criteria,” he stated.
While Guyana is pushing to developing the tourism sector; Gouveia stated the country needs to adopt a welcoming posture and image to the world. He says as it stands this is not the case.
“We need to be very clear about what those guidelines are…We are anxiously awaiting those guidelines so we can distribute it into our networks,” he emphasized.