Universal Airlines - a charter service - will begin flying from Guyana by mid-December with six flights per week to New York and others to Toronto, Port-of-Spain and Paramaribo.

In a press release on Saturday, Universal said that after eighteen months of extensive review and screening, it was pronounced competent and was granted its air carrier licence on July 18, 2001 and scheduled service authority by the Civil Aviation Department on September 10, 2001.

Universal Airlines plans to begin its operation with a Boeing 767 aircraft which has a total of 251 seats in coach and business classes. The aircraft, according to the release signed by Sudarshan Singh, will be operated by a highly reputable company from Europe. The airline will establish a trust account which will ensure that every passenger's payment is secure until they have completed their flight or flights, the release said. The airline staff is primarily Guyanese and the principals and senior staff members have a combination of many years of airline and business experience.

Universal Airlines will establish a training centre in Georgetown and intends to hire additional Guyanese for positions in Georgetown and eventually the United States and other countries.

The airline also has plans to expand service to Miami.

When he announced the granting of the licence recently to Universal, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon said that as a charter service a bond was lodged with the requisite authority here.

International Cargo Charter has also been granted a licence to run a cargo service between Guyana and New York and Toronto.