News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Oct. 4, 2013: Fly Jamaica and Guyanese New Yorkers hopes of a direct return flight between Georgetown and New York have been shattered by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Three days after Fly Jamaica commenced its inaugural flight to Guyana from New York, the airline’s application to fly direct between New York and Georgetown, Guyana was denied by the DOT.
“We deny the request of Fly Jamaica Airways Limited for an exemption under 49 U.S.C. §40109, to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail, on a seventh-freedom turnaround basis, between New York, New York and Georgetown, Guyana,” the DOT said.
The DTO also said that with respect specifically to requests for extra-bilateral seventh-freedom turnaround service, the department has historically viewed such requests as extraordinary and have granted such authority only when the circumstances presented on the record in individual cases show compelling public interest considerations.
It said against that background, it reviewed the applications of CAL and Fly Jamaica and determined that “we cannot make the necessary public interest finding.”
A similar application by Caribbean Airlines, the only other airline now flying to Guyana from New York, was also denied.
So for now, Guyanese hoping to fly home will have to endure a stop over and stressful immigration and security checks in Kingston, Jamaica or Port-of-Spain Trinidad on one leg of their journey.
Delta Airlines was the last direct option but they pulled out of Guyana in May this year without fully explaining why.
