Oil sector incentive for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to add Guyana route

Last Updated on Wednesday, 4 June 2025, 19:44 by Writer

The movement of oil sector workers from Europe to Guyana is a key driver for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines’ decision to serve the Georgetown-Amsterdam route beginning Wednesday, Public Works Minister Deodat Indar said.

He told a reception held on Tuesday to mark KLM’s return here since the 1980s, that the airline would be a major airbridge for mainly offshore marine captains, drillers, and engineers. “Most of the workers that work offshore, they come through Eastern Europe, they come through Amsterdam, and they come down to Guyana,” he said. Mr Indar said before KLM’s service, the workers came to Guyana via London or through New York. “That makes the economic model for KLM to come to Guyana a viable one,” he said.

Mr Indar also welcomed the fact that KLM’s wide-bodied aircraft would be coming to Guyana through St Maarten and Barbados to pick up passengers before flying direct from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri to Amsterdam Airport, Schiphol in The Netherlands. “That will give our Guyanese folks at least the kind of experience that our neighbour Suriname is having for decades that we could not have had, could not have enjoyed,” the minister said.

The Netherlands Ambassador to Guyana, Walter Oostelbos credited Dr Ali with being very instrumental in KLM’s decision by using the “developments in the oil and gas sector to really open your country to foreign investors.”

KLM’s Regional Manager for the Dutch Caribbean, Guyana and Suriname, Dirk Buitelaar, in his remarks, said Guyana, a country of “growing global significance” was capturing the world’s attention. “As Guyana experiences remarkable growth, especially in energy, eco-tourism and infrastructure, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is proud to be a bridge for business, for tourism and for diplomatic opportunities,” he said. He said the carrier would also serve Guyana’s diaspora in Europe.

President Irfaan Ali said KLM’s service would contribute to Guyana being also able to move cargo such as agro-processed products and produce in “a more efficient way” throughout the Caribbean. He said KLM would add 38,000 seats annually to Guyana’s market, which means that “we have to work with you to see how we can fill those seats, how we can ensure that we optimally utilise those seats” through a supportive tourism marketing strategy.

He noted that International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) recent study on Guyana found that the air transport sector contributed US$160 million to gross domestic product (GDP) and 5,200 direct jobs. He said based on 2023 figures, air transport facilitated the movement of more than 13,000 tonnes of cargo. “That is what the air transport sector has been doing for us quietly in Guyana,” he said.

Comparing figures today with those of four years ago, he said 182,000 passengers passed through “our system” then but today that figure has soared to more than 857,000. He said the incoming seat capacity had increased from 336,000 on five carriers to almost 1.5 million seats on 11 carriers that now connect Guyana to 16 destinations.

Dr Ali said Guyana was now focussing on a “more ambitious target” to support three million persons passing through Guyana’s economy in 2030. Among the immediate plans, he said, would be the construction of Terminal 2 at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri because the existing terminal was “inadequate”. That would be backed up by hotels, roads and other infrastructure to connect the hub within a 35-mile radius, he added.

The President promised that the Guyana government would “very soon” invest in expanded aviation education in the areas of management, pilotage and aeronautical engineering.

KLM was founded in 1919, making it the oldest commercial airline in the world.