Regional air transport ‘critical to CARICOM integration’

Sep 17, 2009 News

– Correia calls for single airspace

Regional air transportation is critically important to integration of the Caribbean Community.

This is the opinion of Chairman of the Board of Directors at Ogle International Airport Michael Correia who recently urged that CARICOM, “think anew” as it relates to mechanisms aimed at improving regional integration.

He posited that a CARICOM Airport hub, which connects the Caribbean, to South America, is a good start, “but, we must plan and function as a region, and not, as individual countries, with each operating its own airline, or, for that matter, a single, monopoly airline operating inefficiently within CARICOM.”

According to Correia, billions of dollars have already been wasted and will continue to be wasted in pursuit, of old ideas.

“The effective solution to solve the Air Transportation dilemma among our Caribbean communities is, as we have previously pointed out, to push, for the creation of a single airspace, within CARICOM.

The Ogle Airport Chairman said that what is needed is a single airspace, governed by a Central Caribbean Aviation Authority, with offices in each country, one set of regulations, one set of Inspectors that regulate one common safety standard, and one common CARICOM licence for Pilots and Engineers.

According to Correia, once such a regional framework is established, small, medium and large private sector aviation operators, will step in, and fill the gaps in each country or Island, in a safe and cost effective manner.

“It will allow CARICOM Members to share scarce human resources, and expensive technical equipment and benefit from economies of scale,” according to Correia

He recalled that a Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System, has already been agreed on, and Guyana is a signatory to that, “but the concept clearly needs to be expanded and prioritized, as a critical objective of CARICOM, in the view of the Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana.”