Georgetown : The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) is looking forward to increased air traffic for 2017. The corporation recorded a 13 percent growth in income for 2016.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CJIA, Ramesh Ghir reported income for the year 2016 fell short by $9M from the projected $1.3B. Despite this the CJIA was able to grow its income by 13 percent when compared to 2015.
“The income is directly related to traffic, the more passenger traffic, the more aircraft we have in operation; it means more income for the airport,” the CEO pointed out.
Expenditure at the airport also increased in 2016, Ghir said. The airport expended $919M or 20 percent more than in 2015. Ghir credited additional staffing and infrastructural maintenance at the airport as the reasons for the increased expenditure.
“I want to point out that the difference in the income and expenditure here is not profit,” Ghir pointed out. The CJIA in an effort to improve its management had established its own cleaning unit for some facilities.
Historic passenger movement
The CJIA processed 572,000 returning Guyanese and visitors, a 14 percent increase in arrivals.
“It is the highest number of arrivals and departures that we’ve had in the history of the airport, and only for the third time that we’ve actually surpassed 500,000 passengers,” Ghir pointed out.
The CEO credited an increase in passengers to the celebration of Guyana’s 50th independence anniversary which was observed in May 2016. The airport CEO noted that the increase in passenger numbers was also credited to the airline carriers operating out of the airport.
Copa Airlines almost doubled its traffic with the increase in the number of weekly flights, Ghir noted. Other airlines such as Suriname Airways, Fly Jamaica, Insel Air and Dynamic Airlines also recorded increased passenger numbers. However, Ghir said that the country’s national airline Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) recorded a 10 percent decline in passenger movement due to a reduction in the number of flights out of the CJIA.
Last year also saw an increase in airline carriers out of the CJIA. Ghir noted that three new carriers: Eastern Airlines Fly Always and Easy Sky also contributed to the increase in passengers.
The addition of the new airlines, along with the performance of existing carriers also resulted in increased seating capacity. “This has a direct reflection on the price of the ticket. The more seats available the lower the price, more people travel,” Ghir explained.
Despite the poor performance of CAL during 2016, the airline remains the country’s biggest carrier with more than 50 percent of the market share, Ghir pointed out.
You must be logged in to post a comment.