Director general of the T&T Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA) Ramesh Lutchmedial has called on his Caricom counterparts to follow in T&T’s footsteps and fully comply with the aviation requirements of the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. He said T&T was the only country whose aviation laws and regulations met the necessary requirements. He noted that the revised treaty required removal of all barriers and restrictions in the area of air transportation and harmonisation of standards for the licensing of pilots and air carriers. Lutchmedial was speaking at the graduation ceremony of 20 licensed aircraft maintenance engineers of the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Engineering School in Guyana on Friday, at the Ogle International Airport.
Lutchmedial, chairman of the Caribbean Safety and Oversight System, was the guest speaker. Newly-installed Guyana president Donald Ramoutar delivered the feature address. Lutchmedial called on his regional aviation colleagues to collaborate to establish a world class aviation training product to develop the next generation of aviation leaders in the Caribbean. He boasted of T&T’s lead in the industry, offering three master’s degree programmes in aviation, in partnership with the City University of London which are expected to commence next year. The programmes will be facilitated at the TTCAA’s new aviation complex at Caroni North Bank Road, Piarco. Lutchmedial said the complex would be officially opened early next year.
He said any Caricom citizen could obtain a T&T commerical pilot’s licence or an air operators’ certificate which was necessary for operating an airline. He added that because of provisions in T&T’s aviation laws, Jamaicans were able to obtain their licences to fly aircraft operated by Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL). He said, however, that a T&T citizen could not do the same, since those seeking to obtain a licence out of Jamaican could only fly a registered Jamaican aircraft on the basis of a validation granted at the discretion of that country’s aviation authorities. Ramoutar said Ogle International Airport would soon be able to accommodate the ATR-72 aircraft now being operated by CAL. He also outlined plans for building a modern passenger jet terminal at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport which will be complemented by a four-lane highway from the airport to Georgetown.
