Dear Editor,
It is nice to see the upgrades that have been done to the CJIA airport. The new facilities will provide a comfortable, modernised experience for travellers. To complement these improvements, I would like to make a few suggestions to improve the ease of transit experience for passengers.
1. Simplify the process for filling out departure and arrival records – An online system to check-in and complete the forms necessary for departure and arrival records should be implemented to ease the burden on families travelling with small children. The current process of filling out individual forms for each traveller is fatiguing and time consuming for persons (like myself) who travel with 2-3 small children in tow. Let’s have a secure form accessible by passengers online and authenticated by a security code generated by the system and sent to the passenger. Also, have the option for one form to be used to cover a family of two parents and three small children, filled out by one of the adults.
2. Make scanning luggage easier and more convenient – Instead of having to load your luggage up on a trolley then taking it to a special scanner for use by multiple passengers, why not have multiple scanners located at each customs aisle. This way, the airport can scan multiple passengers’ luggage simultaneously and significantly decrease time spent going through customs. This will benefit both arriving and departing travellers and can allow the airport to serve more flights daily.
Development should not be limited to facilities and aesthetics only but should incorporate the policies, procedures and training provided to airport personnel to handle flights. There has been an uptick in the number of foreign visitors passing through Guyana, and as oil comes to the barrel, there will be more. Having an efficient, functioning system for travellers will be critical to ensuring they have a good experience entering or exiting the country.
Sincerely,
Shazaam Ally