Guyana is this week hosting a conference bringing together aviation regulators, accident investigators, industry representatives and other experts from around the world.

The three-day forum opened yesterday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal, under the theme, “Optimising Resources through Coordination and Cooperation.” It is being jointly organised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and hosted by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

The event marks the first global aviation event of its kind to be hosted in Guyana with delegates from nearly 60 countries participating and comes amid domestic concerns about aviation safety and longstanding calls for the release of a report into deadly helicopter crash in December 2023. The forum is focused on how countries and regional organisations can coordinate their resources and expertise to strengthen aviation safety oversight and accident and incident investigation capabilities.

Among the issues being addressed are regional cooperation, the delegation of specialised safety and investigative functions, aviation workforce development, sustainable financing, partnerships with the aviation industry and the development of common or harmonised regulatory frameworks.

The opening ceremony programme included remarks from GCAA Director General Lt. Col. (Ret’d) Egbert Field, as well as video remarks from ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar and EASA Executive Director Florian Guillermet.

Other officials and stakeholders listed on the programme included Private Sector Commission Chairman Capt. Gerry Gouveia Jr., Inter-American Development Bank Country Representative Lorena Solorzano, Caribbean Development Bank Division Chief (Ag.) William Ashby, European Union Ambassador to Guyana, Suriname and CARICOM Luca Pierantoni, ICAO Air Navigation Bureau Director Michele Merkle, and Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar.

While President Irfaan Ali delivered the feature address at the opening ceremony, several speakers noted how the forum comes at a time when Guyana’s aviation sector is undergoing significant expansion. For example, the number of airlines serving the country has increased from four in 2020 to 16, while signed Air Services Agreements have risen from 13 to 27. 

The forum is expected to provide an opportunity for Guyana and other participating states to examine how safety oversight can keep pace with increasing air traffic, while also addressing challenges associated with limited technical, financial and human resources.

The forum’s official programme includes a session on the benefits of regional cooperation, followed by discussions on developments within RSOOs and RAIOs and the delegation of safety and investigative functions.

The second day is scheduled to focus on attracting and retaining an aviation workforce, sustainable financing, partnerships between regulators and the aviation industry, and developing common or harmonised regulatory frameworks and tools.

The GCAA has said the forum is intended to facilitate the exchange of proven practices and practical solutions, allowing states to optimise available expertise and resources while strengthening aviation safety systems and accident and incident investigation capabilities.

The forum is being held days after warnings about intrusions on hinterland airstrips and a revelation that one plane ran off the runway as an animal was on it.

Questions have also been raised about the failure of the local authorities to release reports on aviation incidents.

The most prominent of these was the December 2023 Guyana Defence Force helicopter crash. In February this year, the government  said that it would not be releasing the long-awaited report, stating that the craft was on a military mission and therefore fell outside the scope of public disclosure.

Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar’s position completely contradicted that of Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill who had assured that the report would be released. At the time that Edghill had given the assurance, Indar was the Minister in the Ministry of Public Works.

Forward Guyana Movement MP Amanza Walton-Desir had argued that Guyana was not complying with Article 13 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation by failing to publish the report into the crash, which claimed the lives of five servicemen.

The GDF helicopter went down in dense jungle in December of 2023. Those killed were Lieutenant Colonel Michael Charles, Colonel Michael Shahoud, Retired Brigadier Gary Beaton, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome, and Warrant Officer Class Two Jason Khan. The helicopter bore civil aviation registration 8R-AYA. Two servicemen, Lieutenant Andio Crawford and Corporal Wayne Jackson, survived the incident. The GDF has not permitted them to tell their story.