With the recent exit of Delta Airlines, there has not been much progress on the talks between government and Surinam Airways.
Contacted over the weekend about the status of the airline’s entry into the Georgetown/New York route, Surinam Airways Country Manager Rudi Westerborg disclosed that there are no new developments.
Delta, on May 7, carried through with its announced withdrawal from the Guyanese market, creating a void that can possibly be filled by the Dutch carrier. When questioned further, Westerborg said although there are technicalities hindering its progress, the airline has not given up hope and is still looking into the possibility of flying to New York.
“Talks are still ongoing among all the parties… but there is nothing concrete as yet,” Westerborg told this newspaper.
The station manager had earlier said the airline will welcome with open arms, all passengers who have expressed a preference for flying the Georgetown/New York route with the Dutch-owned airline.
Westerborg was at the time responding to reports about the possible entry of the airline into direct competition with Caribbean Airlines, which could eventually dominate the market with Delta’s recent withdrawal.
He told Guyana Times International that although proposals and plans are in their initial stages, the possibility of Surinam Airways flying the Georgetown/New York route could prove a positive move in the right direction.
According to Westerborg, officials, including Vice President Clyde Cairo who met with Guyana’s head of state, Donald Ramotar in March, have prepared a report for the board of directors as the first step toward concretising plans.
President Ramotar and a delegation, which included Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee met with Cairo on the sidelines of the 24th Inter-Sessional Caricom Heads of Government Meeting, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
