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Govt. moves to tighten regulations for travel agencies
Attendees at the aviation sector meeting on Monday. (Photo Credit: DPI)
Kaieteur News – Acknowledging the critical role of the aviation industry in the local economy, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, announced on Monday that steps will be taken to tighten the gaps of operations for local travel agencies as the sector continues to expand.
Addressing a forum held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, Edghill noted the need to have firmer, internationally recognised regulations in place.
Minister Edghill also pointed to the need for strengthening legal framework under which local travel agencies operate for the rights of consumers to be protected.
According to Edghill, the Sale of Travel Tickets Act empowers the subject Minister to implement regulations as he deems fit. The Minister emphasised however, that the stipulation is among the things that must be amended.
As such, he said consultations will commence shortly between representatives from the Ministry, GCAA and travel agents on the specific regulations to be implemented.
According to Edghill, the conversation about the regulations to ensure that the sector is operating according to proper standards needs to be “from top-down and inclusive of all the relevant stakeholders.”
“So, we are not going to encourage monopoly. We are not going to encourage elitism and we are going to keep the business door open but we also want everybody who is in practice, in compliance. So I am suggesting that the work of this team wrap up in no longer than six months,” he added.
Further, the Minister said, “Our Government is pro-business. We want to improve the environment for business development, the ease of doing business, we don’t want to put burdens on people, but we want to ensure people are in compliance.”
The Minister therefore called for the travel agencies to take steps to ensure that they are eligible to participate in the upcoming consultations. He noted too that agencies that have not yet registered with the Ministry of Public Works have 30 days to do so.
Meanwhile, in a Department of Public Information report, it was noted that a commitment was made to address complaints against several airlines, which have allegedly failed to compensate customers on time who were affected by cancellations due to the pandemic last year.
Fly Jamaica, LIAT, Caribbean Airlines (CAL) and Eastern Airlines were all blamed for allegedly failing to process cash payments in a timely manner.
In 2019, Fly Jamaica filed for bankruptcy following the 2018 crash-landing of one of its aircraft, which suffered mechanical problems at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). The accident resulted in six persons being injured.
In the case of CAL, travel agents are complaining of the drawn-out process of refunding customers who were affected by the closure of operations during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
In response to complaints, Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Director General, Lieutenant Colonel (ret’d) Egbert Field, who also attended the forum, noted that efforts have commenced to engage some of the errant airlines, particularly with the authorities in Jamaica.
The GCAA head had expressed the commitment of the GCAA to address the issues.
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