The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority on Saturday evening honoured 39 persons for their long service to the local aviation sector, as the country joined the rest of the world in observing International Aviation Day.
The ceremony saw 11 pilots, five engineers and more than 15 other aviation staffers being awarded for more than 20 years of service to the industry, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported. The day was celebrated under the theme: “Evolving to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century Air Transport”.
Speaking at a dinner and awards ceremony Saturday night at the Umana Yana, Kingston, to mark World Aviation Day, Transport Minister Robeson Benn acknowledged that much work remains to be done.
“We have to recognise that the movement of people by air is the most important, the most significant way of moving people to and from Guyana.”
Benn said the challenges of meeting the future demand that air transport is “not just about simply being in the air and flying planes”, but rather the aviation sector will have to enable us “to have the regional, extra-regional and international air transport linkages which would allow for the direct development of our country”.
Mention was made of the plans to improve the Cheddi Jagan and Ogle international airports as part of a 50-year, long-term plan by Minister Benn. This plan has to be extended further to be part of a 100-year project, he said.
“We know that when we speak of turning out a new air transport policy document, fashioning new regulations, upgrading and updating them in trying to get Category One status (Federal Aviation standard) in identifying our young people to become trained and capable, and also our administrator… to everything at the level of air transport, we have to have a vision for the next hundred years.”
The Ogle airport’s public/ private partnership was cited as an example of the partnership needed, but the minister acknowledged that the working relationship has not been as good as it should be, and this has to change.
The challenge of creating and sustaining a national airline was also mentioned by the minister. “We have that challenge to overcome, the question is whether it will be in a public partnership, a private/ public partnership or whether it will be again, a national airline… The most important thing for the future is bringing in new people, regenerating the industry and re-indexing aspirations in respect to civil aviation, ” he said.
Overview
Giving an overview of the local aviation sector, GCAA Board Chairman Hugh Denbow said the theme recognises the significant re-evaluation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) as a whole undertaking, as aviation seeks to forge wider consensus and practical strategic planning to address its imminent challenges.”
The GCAA chairman highlighted some of the challenges, including Guyana’s ability to respond to issues which deal with aviation safety and the modernisation of airport facilities. “… the obvious question is what is being done to respond to them and also to evolve to meet the challenges of the 21st century,” Denbow noted.
He opined that Guyana and, more specifically, the GCAA may have been too slow in reacting to the dynamics of the international civil aviation community with respect to the issues.
Since 1993, the body has not been in full conformity with international standards and recommended practices.
The local aviation sector is now subject to ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit, Denbow said.
For 2014, several goals will be pursued by the GCAA, according to its chairman. These include providing leadership in the development of a national aviation policy, reviewing the Civil Aviation Act 2000, strengthening the capacity of the GCAA, modernising the international airports and hinterland airstrips, and implementing and enforcing regulations.
In brief remarks, GCAA Director General Zulficar Mohamed said given the pace of technological advances and new regulations coming into force, Guyana will find itself “in a black hole” if it does not keep up.
