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Ogle opens a new vista

Jul 23, 2013 Editorial

It was not so long ago that the Ogle terminal was an airstrip in the middle of a cane field. The planes landed with regularity when the airstrip became the hub for hinterland travel. People chartering flights to the interior merely had to book with one of the airline owners, travel to Ogle and simply walk to the plane when it was time to leave.
Things have changed. That airstrip in the middle of a cane field is now an International Airport. There is a departure lounge and an arrival centre where people landing there are processed.
Large jet craft cannot land there because the runway is short but small jets have landed. In fact, one of them is offering a service to the Caribbean and Miami. Yesterday, too, people travelling from the Caribbean islands and even Guyanese returning from the Caribbean now have less travel after deplaning.
From the time the headquarters of the Caribbean Community opened at Liliendaal, everyone decided that Ogle needed to be upgraded. The Caricom Secretary General intervened and got the Japanese to donate a fire tender, which is important for every airport.
The Secretariat had played an important role in securing funding for the expansion of the airstrip. That paved the way for yesterday’s landing of the first international passenger bearing aircraft. One of the major beneficiaries is the Secretariat itself. The drive from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport to the Caricom Secretariat was often a hindrance. This led many to cancel trips to meetings at the Secretariat. It also meant that coming for meetings was slightly more costly. People coming for a one-day meeting either had to leave early or spend a night.
Now these visitors can come in and leave on the same day. The airport is a mere ten-minute drive from the Secretariat.
The improvement of the airport has also led to some interesting discoveries. Long before yesterday’s arrival of LIAT aircraft the security of the airport had improved. Not so long ago there was no baggage check. Today, in keeping with operations at modern airports there are security checks. The result has been interesting.
The police have arrested drug traffickers and seized quantities of drugs. They have also been able to arrest fugitives from justice seeking to escape detection in the crowded coastland. Interestingly too, they have been able to nab illegal immigrants.
There are other advantages of the airport. It shortens the time it takes for people along coastal Guyana to catch connecting flights. This of course would ease the congestion along the East Bank Demerara public road which is the scene of numerous constructions, all aimed at widening the road surface. This translates into fuel savings.
But above all the Ogle airport is an excellent example of what a Government/Private partnership could create. The society had grown accustomed to the government being in control of every possible thing related to international travel. The Ogle airport is a different story.
Yet for all the glamour and the excitement of reaching the heart of the capital in so short a time, all is not well with the airport as far as its total security is concerned. A huge section to the west is exposed and anyone can wander onto the runway. A perimeter fence is greatly needed.
With such an open space people wishing to smuggle anything onto an aircraft has easy access. The people at Ogle do not employ security patrols because the airport has always been a small entity. It is no longer that small strip nestled in the midst of canefields. It is now an international facility.
And it is not surprising that LIAT flights have attracted so much attention. For the first time the ordinary man is going to get an idea of how many Caribbean people frequent Guyana. The size of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport masked the numbers.

 

 

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