CJIA and Caribbean Airlines meet amicable resolution; warning withdrawn

Following upon the successful resolution of the duty free issue, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation (CJIA) has officially withdrawn the warning issued to Caribbean Airlines, to cancel the Air Carrier Agreement, if the airline failed to comply with the procedure proposed by the CJIA.

The Civil Aviation Authorities of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago also re-affirmed their commitment to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two authorities. Under the MOU, passengers originating from Guyana and connecting on other Caribbean Airlines’ services will not be re-screened at Piarco International Airport.

Officials of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, the Chairman and Executive Management of Caribbean Airlines and representatives from the Civil Aviation Authorities of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago met in Guyana today to explore solutions to the issue currently affecting transit passengers who purchase duty free.

The duty free issue arose as Caribbean Airlines is an international air carrier, and must comply with all regulatory directives of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) which governs the security processes and conducts audits for all carriers flying into the United States of America.

The joint statement said after detailed discussions to ensure the interests of all stakeholders are met, the teams agreed on a way forward, which would enable transit passengers to once again purchase duty free items, effective Wednesday June 22nd .

It noted that travellers through a secure process will now be allowed to place their duty free items into their checked luggage. This procedure will NOT apply to BW 526, which operates non-stop Georgetown to New York.

Passengers will be required to indicate their intention to purchase duty free items at the security checkpoint at the entrance to the airport and again at the Caribbean Airlines check-in counter before making their way to the duty-free shops.

Once the purchases are made, the purchaser will be escorted by security personnel to the baggage area in order to place the items in their checked luggage. The process will be closely supervised by security and airport personnel and will be conducted in the full view of cameras.Duty free purchases will need to be completed one (1) hour before scheduled departure to ensure sufficient time for the new procedure.