[www.inewsguyana.com] – Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix met with representatives from InselAir and Roraima Airways – the airline’s local handle – to discuss their operations and Guyana’s air carrier regulations.
During the meeting the airline agreed to work with Guyana to resolve the issues related to the recent incident where eight Indian nationals entered Guyana on July 17, 2015 on InselAir, without the required documentation.
“The meeting was to have a common understanding of the immigration procedures as they relate to the airlines operating here, but more particularly, InselAir. There was an incident here with the Indian nationals in [July] and with the officials of InselAir here. We wanted the assurance that the incident, which happened back then would not be repeated,” Minister Felix said.
Among those present at the meeting were Edward Heerenveen, Chief General and International Affairs Manager of InselAir, Local Representative Captain Gerald Gouveia, Captain Learie Barclay, Regulatory Compliance Consultant, Hospitality Manager Patrick Triumph, both of Roraima Airways and representatives of the Immigration Office.
Last month, Minister Felix, had said that his Ministry will be collaborating with the Minister of Tourism, Catherine Hughes, to circulate the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to airlines, as there has been a record number of attempted illegal entries over the last few months.
Several persons were denied entry into Guyana, since they did not have the necessary financial and documentary resources to sustain their visits. In addition, most of the visitors lacked a Guyana visa. Minister Felix had made it clear that the Government and his ministry will not condone what he described as negligence on the part of airlines.
He noted that the meeting provided the grounds for the government to lay down its immigration policies for the airline to ensure that there is a full understanding of required standard procedures so that the deficiencies can be rectified. [Ministry of the Presidency]
