Latest update January 30th, 2025 6:10 AM
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Guyana reissuing civil aviation legislation and regulations
By Zena Henry
Officers of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) are currently working on a new draft to replace the current Civil Aviation Act of 2000 and its attendant regulations.
Courtesy Guyana Aviation.com
The Authority is seeking to become compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices as outlined in its Annexes and guidance materials.
Chairman of the GCAA, Mr. Hugh Denbow, said last week that the project commenced in March of this year and is being spearheaded by the authority’s General Counsel, Ms. Amanza Walton-Desir.
Denbow explained that while there will be further evaluation of the draft legislation and regulations, the project team which comprises officials from Aviation Safety Regulations, Air Transport Management and Aviation Security Sections are currently at an advanced stage of the project.
He explained that the draft documents address ‘inter alia’ oversight regulations regarding both local and International aircraft operations, qualifications and experience of staff and training issues.
Compliance with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices will also enable the GCAA to be eligible for the attainment of US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Category 1 status, which will allow Guyanese registered aircraft to fly to the United States. The enforcement of aviation regulations is also being addressed since it was noted that while some additional laws are needed and some are being reviewed, the current regulations are silent on other ICAO requirements.
Recently, the Chairman had cause to identify charter carriers which were not in confirmation with the Public Charter Licenses under which their State of Registry had granted their approval.
This and other issues currently exist in the aviation sector, and the proposed regulations will attempt to address these discrepancies, Denbow stated.
The issues of security and safety are of major concern with respect to achieving Category 1 status and the GCAA is seeking to boost its capacity in these areas. The GCAA Chairman explained that a comprehensive review of the regulations governing domestic operations has not been attempted since the Colonial Air Navigation Order of 1961 was repealed by the Guyana Civil Aviation Act of 1996 which itself has since been repealed.
Since Guyana became independent in 1966, no attempt was made to implement new legislation regulations to govern either domestic or international aviation operations until 1996, exactly 30 years later.
Denbow concluded by stating that the development of Guyana’s civil aviation sector is a work-in-progress.
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