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AVIATION · GUYANA
Key Facts
- —The country Guyana, a South American state of under a million people whose oil boom since 2019 has pulled in investors, workers and new airlines.
- —What happened On Tuesday 29 September President Irfaan Ali ordered a review of all aviation laws and regulations. On Wednesday 30 September Guyana signed an air services agreement with Greece.
- —The numbers International flights rose from 3,170 in 2020 to 8,891 in 2025, Ali said on 29 September. He put international passengers at more than one million, up from 205,000.
- —What it means for you Nothing changes for travellers yet. The Greece pact sets rules for future flights, and there are currently no direct flights between the two countries.
- —Still open No deadline or detailed scope for the legal review has been published. No airline has announced a Guyana to Greece route.
Guyana aviation laws are to be reviewed in full, President Irfaan Ali said on Tuesday 29 September. He told the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the national regulator, to find gaps and meet the highest international standards.
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A day later, on Wednesday 30 September, Guyana signed an air services agreement with Greece. Both moves came during a global aviation safety forum hosted in Georgetown, the capital.
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Why Ali ordered the review
Ali announced the directive on Guyana aviation laws at the opening of a forum run by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN aviation body, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The state Department of Public Information (DPI) said civil aviation authorities from about 60 countries attended.
“Whatever we need to do to work backwards to reach those standards, we must invest in doing it,” Ali said, according to DPI. He argued that more aircraft, passengers and operators bring greater complexity.
That complexity, he said, demands trained inspectors, rigorous certification and strict compliance. Growth without stronger oversight and enforcement would leave the sector’s transformation incomplete.
Traffic has nearly tripled since 2020
International flights rose from 3,170 in 2020 to 8,891 in 2025, Ali told the forum. That is an increase of about 180 percent.
The starting point flatters the trend, since 2020 was the year the pandemic grounded much of world aviation. Ali also said international passenger numbers grew 410 percent, from 205,000 to more than one million.
DPI did not say which years the passenger figures compare. These numbers come from the president’s speech and have not been independently confirmed.
What the Greece agreement covers
Public Utilities and Aviation Minister Deodat Indar signed the pact with Greek Ambassador Theodore Tsakiris at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, News Room Guyana reported. Negotiators had initialled the text in Aqaba, Jordan, on 3 December 2019.
The agreement covers the grant of rights, airline designations, tariffs, recognition of licences, safety, security and user charges. It sets a legal framework rather than launching a service.
There are currently no direct flights between Guyana and Greece, News Room noted. DPI said the pact could ease travel between Guyana and Europe and support business and tourism.
Guyana signed a similar pact with Panama at the same forum on 30 September, News Room Guyana reported on 1 October. Copa Airlines has flown daily between the two countries since 2014.
A regional standard, not only a national one
Ali also asked the forum to build a regional team to help Caribbean airports close gaps found in international safety audits. “If one of our airports in the region does not meet the standard, it will affect all of us,” he said.
He criticised uneven transit security checks from one airport to the next. Such differences, he said, undermine passenger confidence and can feel discriminatory.
The push fits the wider oil-boom agenda described in our profile, Who Is Irfaan Ali? Guyana’s Oil-Boom President, His Record and the Allegations. For background on the economy, see Guyana Explained: The Oil Boom, the Politics, the Economy and What to Watch.
What Is Not Yet Known
The government has not published a timetable, budget or detailed scope for the review of Guyana aviation laws. It is also unclear whether new legislation will go to the National Assembly or come as GCAA regulations.
No airline has announced plans to fly between Guyana and Greece. The agreement still has to be followed by airline designations before any route can start.
Sources: Department of Public Information, Guyana (29 Sep 2026); Department of Public Information, Guyana (30 Sep 2026); News Room Guyana (30 Sep 2026); News Room Guyana (29 Sep 2026); News Room Guyana (1 Oct 2026).
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