The Ogle International Airport now rename Eugene F. Correia Airport is Guyana’s second airport. It was renamed as a tribute to the sterling contribution of a man, who pioneered the development of the aviation sector and Guyana’s gold and diamond industry. The late Eugene Francis Correia was also a parliamentarian and Minister of Government, who was born in Buxton on August 21, 1899 and died in 1973 at the age of 74. Ogle Airport’s prime location offers many advantages for both incoming & outgoing travelers. It is located just approximately 10km East from the Capital City – Georgetown, along the Atlantic coast.
Brief History
The Airport before the name change.
Ogle Airport Inc. was formed by a local consortium of airline operators to manage, operate and develop Ogle Airport to ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) standards, and assumed management of the airport on December 01, 2001.
In 2003, Ogle Airport was a local hub shuttling some 50,000 passengers and 1,800 tons of cargo annually. Construction began that year to expand the facility to an international airport with upgraded facilities for immigration, customs, air traffic control, health and fire service. The lengthened and expanded runway is now in service, and a ceremony to formally open the new airport terminal was held in March, 2007.
OGL received its port of entry certification in 2009. It has a Class 1A, 2000 ft (600m)-long runway made of concrete, and operates under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). Over the years, Ogle Airport has developed into the main domestic hub providing commercial passenger and cargo air transport services, primarily between Georgetown and the hinterland of Guyana.
The airport will serve international, regional and domestic destinations with aircraft in the class of Dash 8, 300’s. The development of the airport includes the construction of a new category 2 (C) 1199 meter x 30 meter runway, a 25 meter wide taxiways and a one storey terminal building.
As of September 2009, Ogle Airport Inc, is now an International Port of Entry. The Airport has grown today to become the top choice for regional passengers in and out of Guyana, both for the convenience it offers and its proximity to the capital city.
Airline Operators
Airline operators at the Ogle International Airport includes:
- Trans Guyana Airways Ltd.
- Air Services Limited
- Roraima Airways Inc.
- Wings Aviation Ltd.
- Jags Aviation
- Domestic Airways
- Oxford Aviation
- Hinterland Aviation
- Fenix Airways
- Guysuco (Agricultural spraying)
- Golden Arrow Airways
Either one of these airlines can safely take you to your destination with ease. Over the years, the Airport has displayed extraordinary growth into, demonstrably, the busiest Airport in the Caribbean with, in excess, of 130 flight movements a day and functioning as the domestic hub for the country’s hinterland and coastal aviation destinations. Destinations include the hinterland regions such as Kato, Paramakatoi, Monkey Mountain, Lethem, Kaieteur Falls, Essequibo Islands among many other places.
The key connection between the capital city and the hinterland
The Ogle International is the main component that facilitates our hinterland development and survival. The airport plays a critical role in servicing and sustaining Guyana’s hinterland development and services, whether mining, agriculture, tourism, forestry, community, government, social and health services. This can be exaggerated by the fact that, on an average day some 62 flights service, some 53 separate destinations carrying some 500 passengers and over 46,000 lbs of cargo, an increase of approximately 135,000 passengers and 12 million lbs of cargo, over the past 16 years.
In addition to the Airport’s essential role in connecting our capital city and coastal population to our hinterland, the Airport plays an expanding role in linking our country to our regional destinations with scheduled daily passenger and cargo flights to Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname through LIAT, GUMAIR, Trans Guyana Airways and DHL. These flights provide a regional link to ongoing flights to our hinterland. On an average day, the Airport turns over some 200 passengers and over 2,000 lbs of cargo.
Trans Guyana Airways has recently introduced a Beechcraft 1900 service to its fleet which now provides chartered direct flights to regional destinations extending to Puerto Rico.
In 2009, a European Union funded grant of 1.5 million Euros as part of a CARICOM Regional Airport Development Programme, served to extend the Airport’s runway to 4,200 x 100 feet, meeting ICAO Code 2 runway compliance, enabling the Airport to accommodate regional carriers like LIAT and CAL. The regional flights connecting Guyana to its CARICOM partners are of particular benefit to the Community’s Head-quarters located within a 10-minute drive from the Airport and the neighboring Arthur Chung International Conference Centre.
The Ogle International Airport consist of over 500 employees thereby, providing employment for the surrounding communities. It also creates opportunities for investment in a range of supporting services from restaurants to hotels, shops, taxi services, light industry, manufacturing, fabricating, administrative offices, security services, to name a few.
References
- https://www.inewsguyana.com/ogle-airport-officially-renamed-eugene-f-correia-international-airport/
- https://www.ogleairportguyana.com/
- https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2016/05/08/eugene-francis-correia-a-distinguished-son-of-the-soil/
