| There has been a nine percent decrease in international passenger arrivals at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport during 2008.Manager of the airport, Ramesh Ghir, during a press conference yesterday,Cuauhtemoc Blanco Mexico Jersey, said that most of the airport’s income is generated from passenger arrivals and aircraft landings.He noted that there was also a four percent decline in international landings at the facility.“In terms of our income, we have an overall two percent increase in finances…this was due mainly to the fact that we were able to promote the non-aeronautical revenues, such as the retail concession and advertising at the airport.”During 2008, the airport transferred $287M to the Consolidated Fund, with $325M spent in expenses.When asked about the large number of incidences involving narcotics passing through the facility without detection, Ghir said that the airport management is not responsible for such matters. Rather, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit has to give account for the occurrences.And during the past year, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority lost a number of employees,David Luiz Brazil Jersey, head of the organization, Zulfikar Mohamed, said yesterday.Mohamed,Adam Bogdan Liverpool Jersey, who was also at the press conference, admitted that a large number of employees resigned from the organisation during the last year.In the area of air traffic services, he said, the organisation is in the process of modernizing air navigation services.“We will provide modern and new equipment for communication and navigation, to ensure safety of operation in Guyana.” The year in the aviation sector ended on a sad note, with the disappearance of the ‘Beech King Air’ operated by Dynamic Aviation, which went missing on November 1, 2008.After two weeks of searching, the parties found nothing and, in the end, the search had to be abandoned.But, according to Mohamed,Danny Rose Jersey UK, the data acquired during the search is still being analysed in the United States.In September, there was also an incident in which a local operator ran off the airstrip at Kaieteur Falls.Then there was the incident in which a Delta Airlines flight on which President Bharrat Jagdeo was a passenger almost collided with a Caribbean Airlines plane. Addressing that particular incident, Mohamed said that the incident was deemed a ‘near miss.’ “We have since investigated all the incidences, and we have taken the corrective actions,Rony Lopes Jersey,” Mohamed said.Human errors,Arjen Robben Jersey, he however noted, are something one cannot completely prevent. |
