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Is the Eugene F. Correia International Airport Really an International Airport?

Jan 11, 2023 Letters

Dear Editor,

It has been over 8 months now that the x-ray screening equipment at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport (EFCIA) has been out of service. When inquiries were made to management, it was explained that they cannot find qualified technicians to repair the x-ray equipment and that at times, the decision to hire certain persons for the job is political in nature.

I do not understand what was meant by the hiring of persons to do a job has to be political in nature. The EFCIA as I am aware is operated by a private entity known as Ogle Airport Inc. (OAI). The government of Guyana awhile back had entered into an agreement with OAI to manage and operate EFCIA in what is known as a Public Private Partnership (PPP). At the time, I guess this was a good option but however in 2023, the EFCIA does not meet the standard or requirement to be considered an international airport. At best, it is an upscale bush operation that we have here at Ogle.

They are one step above bush operations that happen within the interior regions of Guyana just because of their location close to the capital, Georgetown. That being the only thing that separates EFCIA from a bush operation. We have individual operators such as Jags Aviation and Trans Guyana that have invested into upgraded facilities and equipment that far outshine and outperform EFCIA. So why is it that EFCIA is being left to the scavengers?

How is it that the relevant authorities such as the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) not stepped in and suspended operations at EFCIA or even tighten the noose around them in order to get basic security and safety equipment operational? The process is burdensome when you have to physically open and inspect every piece of cargo and baggage before it is loaded onto the aircraft for transport. This has been an on-going issue for well over 8 months.

The government has and still is investing hundreds of millions of dollars into the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and yet EFCIA which is one of the busiest airports in the Caribbean Region is being left to waste away by poor management (OAI). When the question is raised as to why things cannot be done or why don’t they invest money and upgrade the facilities and equipment, the same answer has been used for the last decade, the company has no money, EFCIA is always broke.

I find it hard to believe that the busiest airport in the Caribbean is always broke even with all the new air operators that are operating out of EFCIA for the oil and gas sector. Is it that OAI is mismanaging the funds? Why hasn’t the Government of Guyana, Ministry of Public Works, step in and offer an olive branch to OAI and relook at that PPP agreement that was put into place decades ago and take back control of EFCIA and give it the necessary facelift, upgrade and management structure, training and quality control oversight that it needs?

EFCIA is located in the heart of our country. It serves all our interior locations, our oil and gas sector exclusively, we have international flights to Suriname daily and Caribbean Airlines operates out of EFCIA on a daily basis. Yet the facilities, equipment, staff and mindset of management are that of the 1990s respectfully. We cannot expect to succeed and improve our environment and situation if we keep doing the same thing over and over and not getting any better results. Whatever was working in the 1990s for EFCIA is not working in 2023 anymore. The entire agreement between the Government of Guyana and OAI needs to be relooked at and the Government has a national and social responsibility to ensure all ports of entry are well equipped, have trained and competent staff and management. The GCAA is the national authority for oversight for aviation in Guyana and it seems year after year, EFCIA has been allowed to slip through the cracks and crevices of the GCAA’s regulations or maybe, as it was explained to me, it is political in nature.

Kind regards,

John Taylor

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