Economic growth dependent on CJIA reopening

Oct 18, 2020 News

Juan A. Edghill, Minister of Public Works

Kaieteur News – Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill expressed that “reopening the airport will indeed result in an economic growth shift for the entire country,” as it continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a release from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA)
The release stated that the return to commercial operations would see passenger arrivals double over the next month. Several carriers, including Caribbean, American and COPA Airlines have applied and have been approved to resume commercial flight operations.
CJIA said that this was a promising start to the reopening process, especially since the airport experienced a 95 percentage drop in passenger traffic and 1.4 billion dollars in revenue losses, over the last six months, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The release noted that this was testimony to President Irfaan Ali’s vision for striking the right balance in dealing with the pandemic adding that in a recent interview, President Ali said that “the balance requires very strong protocols and I think, therein lies the trick to this pandemic; the protocols and enforcing the protocols.”
Meanwhile, the CJIA informed that it has acquired the Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) from the Airport Council International, Latin America and the Caribbean Region (ACI-LAC). The ACI Airport Health Accreditation programme provides airports with an assessment of how aligned their health measures area when compared to the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force(CART) recommendations as well as with industry best practices. The CJIA believes that this would give the airlines and passengers the confidence that the safety measures implemented are in line with international standards.
The release noted that this development notwithstanding, passengers arriving into Guyana are required to obtain a negative Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test taken within seven days, prior to their arrival. Passengers with tests within four to seven days prior to arrival at CJIA will be subjected to a second PCR test. In relation to the on-site PCR testing at the airport, the CJIA said that it was pleased to report that all passengers who have since been tested on arrival are negative for COVID-19.

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