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Guyana blocks Venezuelan airline from landing at CJIA
– passengers stranded
By Abena Rockcliffe
The Guyana government has put a temporary ban on Venezuelan state-owned airline, Conviasa from landing here, leaving over 40 Venezuelan passengers stranded up to late last night.
According to reports, the plight of the passengers is owed to Conviasa’s failure to honour certain financial obligations.
Conviasa owed landing and administration fees to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority. Also, the airline failed to lodge a passenger bond.
As a result of the airline’s failure to lodge the required bond, the airline was not given permission to fly into Timehri last Saturday morning at 11:00hrs.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge
This bond is required of all charter operators operating in and out of Guyana and constitutes a safety net in the event of any unplanned event affecting the airline’s ability to deliver the service it was contracted to provide to passengers.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge yesterday disclosed that in response to an intervention from the Venezuelan Ambassador on Friday evening, his Ministry proposed that the Government of Venezuela issue a letter of comfort for a period of a week, while the airline makes arrangements to raise the funds for the bond.
Unfortunately, he said that late Friday night, the Ambassador informed the Ministry that the representatives of Conviasa had been unable to find the Venezuelan Minister of Transport to approve the arrangement and issue the letter.
In the interim, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on its own initiative, on Saturday afternoon, considered and discussed with the Ministry of Finance alternative options that would enable the use of offset funds in lieu of a formal bond. However, Greenidge said that that line was terminated when the Airline requested permission to send an empty aircraft to collect the Timehri passengers.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated to the airline that such an arrangement in the absence of a bond would only be acceptable to local authorities if the aircraft also brought in Conviasa’s passengers who would otherwise be stranded in Porto Ordaz, Venezuela. But that was not the case.
A Conviasa aircraft
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has since advised the Guyana Ministry of Infrastructure, the relevant authority, that the airline be allowed to remove their passengers, who have been stranded in Guyana since Saturday.
The plight of these passengers was not one that was sustainable because Conviasa, which does not have a Guyana office, was not able to get funds to its ground handling agent Gerry Gouveia, to fund the payment of the passengers’ hotel bills while the problem is being resolved.
At the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on Saturday, the stranded passengers were forced to sleep in the departure lounge.
Kaieteur News understands that some passengers booked themselves into hotels yesterday while others, apparently cash-strapped, remained at the Airport.
The Airport is expected to give the airline clearance to fly in and collect the stranded passengers.
The authorities are expected to inform the airline that future resolution of the outstanding matter will depend on the prior lodging of a bond by the airline. It is understood that most of the other debts owed to suppliers of services and ground handling in Guyana were paid off by the company on Friday afternoon.
Greenidge said that the long running cash problem of the company is believed to be a consequence of chronic foreign exchange shortages in Venezuela.
Conviasa Airlines is the only carrier offering direct service between Guyana and Venezuela. Conviasa began its weekly flights between Guyana and Venezuela back in 2013. Kaieteur News understands that the bond was never lodged before.
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