GCAA denies downgrading CJIA safety rating, refuses to discuss findings, Demerara Waves stands by report

Last Updated on Thursday, 23 October 2025, 22:31 by Writer

The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on Thursday denied that it downgraded the Cheddi Jagan International Airport’s (CJIA) rescue and firefighting capacity, but again refused to discuss the findings of recent inspections.

“The GCAA does not disclose or discuss inspection findings and reports on aviation stakeholders with third parties,” the authority said in a statement.

The GCCA Director-General Retired Lt. Col. Egbert Field in the statement “firmly states that there has been no downgrade of the CJIA’s status from category 8 to category 5. Furthermore, he has not signed any document to suggest such a change.”

However, Demerara Waves Online News stands by its earlier report and the implications it contains.

In contrast to the GCAA’s claim that the unnamed sources in the article provided inaccurate and misinformation regarding the reduced “category rating of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport,” the headline and subsequent references in the article referred to the “rescue and firefighting capacity” of that aerodrome.

As stated in the original article that the GCAA now refutes, that regulatory authority “assures the public that Cheddi Jagan International Airport continues to operate safely and efficiently”. The GCAA said it maintains its commitment to the highest standards of aviation safety and regulatory oversight.

Demerara Waves Online News maintains incontrovertibly that the CJIA’s categorisation for rescue and firefighting capacity has moved from 8 to 5 following inspections that were conducted in September when the last certification was about to expire.

Based on the GCAA’s own benchmarks, category five means the availability of 8,100 litres of water to assist a Level A foam concentrate. The ICAO says Level A foam must be able to extinguish hydrocarbon fire in an area of 2.8m^2. 

Prior to the downgrade before the expiration of the certification at the end of September 2025, the CJIA’s rescue and firefighting capacity had enjoyed a category eight rating that would have allowed for the provision of at least 27,300 litres of water to assist a Level A foam concentrate in putting out a hydrocarbon fire in the same area.

Sources said the airport’s rescue and firefighting rating was reduced because the appliances at the station were not working efficiently due to too many mechanical defects such as air leaks which cause the response time to be slow.

The sources said that at least one appliance requires a firefighter to dismount, run to the rear with a tool to open the water/foam tanks to pump instead of pressing a button inside the cabin.

Fire Chief Gregory Wickham on Thursday told Demerara Waves Online News that the Guyana Fire Service has since taken remedial action. He said more firefighters have been deployed and additional personnel would be deployed after another batch graduates. “We’ve put in place all the necessary requirements for those things that they identified to be put in place,” he said. Told that firefighters needed to exit the cabin to open the tanks, he said, “there were some mechanical issues but those were all fixed.” Mr Wickham said it was now left to the GCAA and CJIA to do their regular checks and inspections.

Minister of Home Affairs, Oneidge Walrond on October 13, 2025 said following a high-level meeting with aviation and security stakeholders on that date that she, along with Minister of Aviation Deodat Indar, and key officials, visited the Timehri Fire Station to “assess its operational readiness and ensure that our firefighters are fully equipped to safeguard operations at the nation’s main airport.”

Demerara Waves Online News was reliably informed that the visit by the team of ministers and other top government, fire service and airport officials stemmed from the findings of the inspections.