High-speed data connection collapses causing major delays in check-in at Guyana’s key airport

Last Updated on Monday, 1 August 2016, 13:20 by Denis Chabrol

Passengers leaving Guyana are experiencing flight delays and cancellations due to a collapse of the high-speed data link that serves the check-in system at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), officials said Monday.

A senior airport official said the data-link, which has a much higher capacity, has been down for the past two days.

“The line that they provide the Internet connection is down so as a result of that the airline check-in system is not functional,” the official told Demerara Waves Online News.

The official said he said he has been advised that there is a problem with the Americas II Cable off the French Caribbean island of Martinique which feeds data to SITA, an international air transport communications and information technology provider.

GT&T has not issued a statement on the issue and its CEO, Justin Nedd did not answer calls made to his cellular phone.

The official said airlines have since been checking in outgoing passengers manually, causing severe delays.  At the same time, he said many of the delays have been due to operational problems being experienced by airlines and heavy fog.

Chief Executive Officer of the Roraima Group, Captain Gerry Gouveia told Demerara Waves that  Dynamic Airlines was forced to cancel one of its flights and Insel Air’s outgoing flight was also cancelled.

“We have to check in manually and this is having some huge delays which is causing some huge spin-off into JFK Kennedy,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.

So far Dynamic Airlines has cancelled its flight into Guyana in the hope that the problem is fixed before the next scheduled arrival. InselAir, he said, cancelled its flight because the crew time expired. “This delay at the airport is causing serious trouble for the airlines,” he said.

Among those affected are numerous cub scouts who were in Guyana for a Caribbean Cuboree.