…only 90,000 passengers travel to the country since 2020 commercial travel reopening
…airport working to sift out fake PCR tests and to ensure safe travel
By Lisa Hamilton
The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) has lost more than 85 per cent of its revenue due to heightened travel restrictions in the United States (U.S.) and other countries caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Passenger traffic has reduced by more than half with only approximately 90,000 passengers travelling to Guyana since the reopening of the airport to commercial travel in October 2020. In an interview with the Village Voice News, Public Relations Officer at the CJIA, Shunza Samuels spoke about the ways in which the international airport has been impacted and how it is managing its day-to-day operations amid a global crisis.
SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED NUMBERS
For the new year, though vaccination campaigns are ongoing in Guyana and around the world, there are still several factors affecting the rate at which people are travelling to the country. From January 1 to March 31, 2021, only some 40,000 persons travelled to Guyana while there were about 20,000 outbound passengers. Compared to 2019, before the pandemic, there were 346,753 international passengers for the year who arrived through the CJIA and 657,433 in total when including other ports.
“These figures point to a significant reduction in passenger traffic when compared to previous years, due to the strict COVID-19 guidelines imposed by countries,” Samuels explained.
Currently, there are five commercial airlines operating out of the CJIA, namely Suriname Airways, Caribbean Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue and COPA Airlines. However, Samuels said that the CJIA and its stakeholders are in constant discussion with multiple carriers and with those in the oil and gas sector and there’s a growing interest in taking operations to Guyana.
SAFETY, THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY
Even so, while efforts are being made to expand travel to the country, employees at the CJIA cannot for one moment take their eyes off the ball when it comes to adherence to the strict COVID-19 measures in place. One area that demands consistent keenness is the acceptance of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests. Since the reopening of the airport, there have been several cases of forged PCR tests. Samuels updated: “The Port Health Authority, with support from CJIA, has been working closely with the testing labs to verify the legitimacy of the test submitted by the passenger. We have also been able to detect a few cases of fake tests.”
Three travellers presented fake tests in December 2020 and others in the months to come. The Eureka Medical Laboratories Inc., responsible for on-site testing at the airport, has since established systems to guard against this criminal act. Persons can be fined up to $250,000 and be banned from travel for falsifying a PRC test.
Meanwhile, the CJIA has recently invested heavily to strengthen the security measures at the airport which will add to the efficiency of security agents when conducting passenger checks. The airport has also upgraded and installed state-of-the-art scanning machines to aid security efforts. As it relates to protection against COVID-19 during travel, apart from the common measures of wearing a mask, sanitizing and maintaining social distancing, Samuels has encouraged passengers to do their part by respecting all safety protocols both onboard and offboard. Even with precautions in place, Minister Anthony has updated that Guyana has recorded 48 imported cases of COVID-19 as of March 31, 2021. Most of these were detected at the CJIA and Eugene F. Correia International Airport and were identified through re-testing.
