By Leana Bradshaw
Prominent local aviator and businessman Captain Gerry Gouveia said the recent decision by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) to deny third-party air carriers direct flights between Guyana and New York was a “serious blow” to the Guyanese economy.
Weighing in on the matter of the non-existent direct flights on Wednesday during an interview with Guyana Times International, Gouveia said the refusal by DOT to grant the airlines the privilege was questionable. The department’s decision means that both Fly Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines, which ply the route, will have to stop in their respective countries of registration before continuing on to the United States.
Stymied economy
Gouveia believes the department’s move was unjustifiable, given that there was no airline providing direct flights for that route. “If Delta was still on the route, for example, and Delta was saying ‘here, listen, we’re providing it and so we don’t want a third-party country doing it’, that would be understandable, but Delta is not here and I think the U. S. authorities really need to be sensitive to the economic needs of Guyana,” he reasoned.
Gouveia added that “this action by the U. S. authorities will not affect Caribbean Airlines or Fly Jamaica as much as it’s affecting the Guyanese economy”. He, therefore, views the move as one to stymie the expansion of the local economy by preventing access to “our tourism product and investors coming directly into Guyana”.
Gouveia also said established airlines such as Fly Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines are the ones that should be granted such privileges, since they are already certified and accredited.
“Unfortunate and unfair”
“We may eventually get chartered services flying directly to Guyana, but chartered services continue to put the flying public in an unstable situation, because we never know when they will stop,” he stated.
The businessman added that established airlines bring to the market a level of reliability.
Hence, he is urging that the government of Guyana and the local U. S. embassy join in efforts to lobby for the reversal of DOT’s decision, since there is currently no other alternative for local passengers wishing to fly non-stop to New York.
Newly-appointed Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) President Kit Nascimento has labelled the situation as “unfortunate and unfair”. As such, he said every effort should be made to appeal the decision taken. “As far as tourism is concerned, as president of THAG, I feel that the position taken is wrong.”
Good reason
He said there was every good reason that the airlines should be permitted to fly directly from Guyana to New York and vice versa. Nascimento added that he would seek to initiate a petition to persuade THAG members to object to the decision, making way for it to be appealed.
