Regional carrier, Caribbean Airlines launched its much touted non-stop service between Guyana and Suriname on Sunday and is promising more expansion and connections to other destinations.
Caribbean Airlines Country Manager for Guyana and Suriname, Renata Marshall, noted that the airline has been growing steadily and Guyana has been benefiting from that growth with increased frequency of flights to various destinations, increased employment opportunities and development of new services.
Ms. Marshall said the airline will continue to roll out schedules that are welcomed by travelers in Guyana and the rest of the region.
She said “as Guyana’s economy continues to grow, the need for increased airlift has never been more important. We understand the role that we play in supporting this growth and resources permitting, we are ready to meet the challenge. Today, with the launch of this new route between Guyana and Suriname, we are adding nearly 300 seats across the market, offer even more travel options and increasing access to other destinations throughout the region”.
The airline will operate twice weekly non-stop flights from the Eugene F. Correia Airport at Ogle to Suriname’s Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport in Paramaribo. Those flights will operate on Fridays and Sundays with additional flights on other days available through Trinidad and Tobago.
Guyana’s Minister of Tourism Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, welcomed the new service and its role in improving connectivity between Guyana and its neighbour to the east.
“This kind of venture, and this step that Caribbean Airlines has made, further underscores the point that they see Guyana as a viable destination. We continue to invest in our tourism product and pretty soon, as you’ve been hearing about, the hotel rooms and the several hotels that are currently about to open, have opened up and are about to be open this this year and the early part of next year. We are investing in our expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, investing in the in the state-of-the-art Immigration E-portal to help streamline access for our passengers, and all of this just goes to underscore the point to our partners like our airlines that Guyana is a credible partner and that you partnering with us and with the Government will indeed bring us returns”, the Tourism Minister said.
Minister of Works, Juan Edghill, in welcoming the new Guyana-Suriname service, challenged Caribbean Airlines to get more Guyanese on board as cabin crew members.
“We want to see more Guyanese on board when we are traveling, and not just as passengers, but as crew and we want to be able to have more Guyanese companies engaged in your catering on board so we’ll be able to offer some of what we are, to people while they’re in flight. We want to be able to see a greater relationship between Guyana and Caribbean Airlines”, Edghill said.
In Suriname, the country’s Minister of Transport Uraiqit Ramsaran said Suriname is also pleased with the new service between Guyana and Suriname. He noted that the Government of Suriname is always welcoming of positive steps that contribute to the economic development of Suriname and he sees the introduction of the new service as one of those steps.
Since the start of this year, Caribbean Airlines has announced new connections to a number of other destinations as well as improved connectivity to its North American destinations.