Interior shuttle ban continues for some airlines

By Devina Samaroo

The majority of domestic airlines remain banned from operating shuttle flights as they have not yet submitted the requested manuals governing such operations to the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

Director General of the GCAA, Egbert Field told a news conference today that it has been six weeks since he asked the airline operators to submit manuals documenting the procedures and policies of their shuttling operations but it was only when he announced the temporary suspension on August 30, 2017 that only a few operators made submissions. Trans Guyana was one of those operators and they have since been given the green light to resume the shuttle operations.

Field clarified that the ban was placed on fuel and cargo and not the shuttling of passengers.

The other operators submitted their manuals as a group, but according to Field, they needed to make their submissions individually. In addition, he said the manuals initially submitted were “unacceptable” and therefore some amendments needed to be made.

To date however, Field said he is still awaiting the resubmission of the document.

Some airline owners have criticised the Authority for implementing such a “kneejerk” decision but Field declared that he will not be lectured by anyone, noting that safety is of paramount importance.

“We are going to set a structured movement and set proper procedures to have it done in the right format. We have to build the shuttle operation on a safe and risk management policy,” he stated.

The suspension came on the heels of three aircraft accidents which occurred within the space of two months during shuttling operations, which claimed the lives of two pilots.