Stabroek News
June 2, 2001

The government has decided that its 49 per cent stake in GA 2000 is not worth saving.

President Bharrat Jagdeo said yesterday that from all indications, the liabilities of the firm exceeded its assets and for an investment to be sound it must have some net worth.

GA 2000's operations have been suspended and the government recently took a decision to finance the return fares for about 300 GA 2000 passengers from North America, who had been stranded in Guyana when the suspension was announced.

The airline had been unable to refund tickets and most of the workers were asked to go on no-pay leave. BWIA is today scheduled to bring in a L1011 aircraft to take 160 passengers to Toronto. On its scheduled flights to New York, BWIA will also take 118 passengers by today. This would leave some 30 passengers for New York and they will be flown out by mid-week.

The management of the airline is still discussing the possibility of restarting its operations, with a foreign investor.

The Guyana Airways Corporation (GAC) was privatised in 1999 to Aviation Investments, a group of local businesses. It then had a debt of US$9 million.