Guyana Chronicle
May 29, 2001

ST. JOHN'S, Antigua, (CANA) - The Guyana government has in principle granted route rights to the Antigua-based privately-owned regional airline, Caribbean Star, a senior airline official said yesterday.

"We have been informed that the route rights have been granted but it has to go to the Cabinet for approval," Gilles Filiatreault, Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean Star told the Caribbean News Agency (CANA).

Applications for flying rights are submitted to Public Works and Communications Minister, Mr. Anthony Xavier, who then refers them to the Air Transport Board (ATB) before they go back to the minister for eventual cabinet approval.

The airline, owned by American-born Antiguan billionaire Allen Stanford, applied for route rights one month ago and expects to get the final green light in another two weeks.

Filiatreault said Caribbean Star initially would fly Barbados-Grenada-Guyana but with the development of Barbados as a hub, a non-stop service would eventually be available from Guyana to Barbados with connections to the rest of the Caribbean island chain.

Earmarked as a hub, Barbados has approved an application by Caribbean Star for routes linking Barbados to St. Lucia, St Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.

Caribbean Star was previously only allowed to fly from Barbados to Dominica and islands further north except St Maarten. "I am extremely pleased with the graciousness with which Caribbean Star has been treated by the Barbados government and the great encouragement the airline has been given in its efforts to make Barbados a major hub," he was quoted at the weekend in his newspaper, the Antigua Sun.

Caribbean Star's plans to fly as far south as Guyana are coming to fruition at a time when the carrier is moving to increase its fleet from five Dash-8s to 25 aircraft with the acquisition of 14 regional jets and several Twin Otters to ply the islands with smaller runways.

LIAT and Caribbean Star both serve all the English-speaking Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and the British Virgin Islands (BVI).