Guyana Airways was the

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hi ...

of Guyana. It was an important link for the Guyanese community as it provided a way into and out of the country. During its operations, Guyana Airways operated services to destinations in the Caribbean, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The airline was headquartered in Georgetown, Guyana. It was declared insolvent in 2001.

History

British Guiana Govt Airways Grumman Goose c 1955tr

The company was founded by Art J. Williams and Harry Wendt in 1939 as British Guiana Airways using Ireland flying boats. Although it was a private venture, the colonial government provided subsidies. In the 1940s, the company began operating with the

Grumman G-21 Goose The Grumman G-21 Goose is an amphibious flying boat designed by Grumman to serve as an eight-seat "commuter" aircraft for businessmen in the Long Island area. The Goose was Grumman's first monoplane to fly, its first twin-engined aircraft, a ...

. In July 1955, the colonial government bought BGA. At this time,

BWIA West Indies Airways BWIA West Indies Airways Limited, known locally as "Bee-Wee" and also as British West Indian Airways and BWIA International, was the national airline based in Trinidad and Tobago. At the end of operations, BWIA was the largest airline operating ...

provided management assistance. In September 1963, the name was shortened to ''Guyana Airways''. In May 1966, Guyana became an independent nation. The airline leased all of its aircraft, which resulted in many different aircraft types being flown during the airline's existence, such as Russian-made

Tupolev Tupolev (russian: Ту́полев, ), officially Joint Stock Company Tupolev, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Basmanny District, Moscow. Tupolev is successor to the Soviet Tupolev Design Bureau ( OKB-156, design off ...

and American

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

jets. In June 1999, the airline went bankrupt and ceased operations. However, a new company named Guyana Air 2000 was formed using its assets, and maintained a short-lived operation until May 2001 when it filed for insolvency.

Destinations

International routes in 1981

According to the April 26, 1981 Guyana Airways international service timetable, the airline was operating

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

jet flights between Georgetown Timehri Airport (GEO, now Cheddi Jagan International Airport) and the following international destinations: * Bridgetown, Barbados (BGI) *

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

(MIA) *

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname' ...

(PBM) * Port of Spain (POS)

International routes in 1983

According to the July 1, 1983 edition of the

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the USA, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, flight st ...

(OAG), Guyana Airways was serving the following international and domestic destinations from Georgetown (GEO): International destinations served with the Boeing 707: *Bridgetown, Barbados (BGI) *Miami (MIA) *

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

(JFK) *Paramaribo (PBM) *Port of Spain (POS) * Boa Vista (BVB) Domestic destinations in Guyana served with

de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

and

Hawker Siddeley HS 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorption by Hawker Siddeley ...

turboprops: * Annai (NAI) *

Bartica Bartica, Essequibo, is a town on the left bank of the Essequibo River in Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region 7), at the confluence of the Cuyuni and Mazaruni Rivers with the Essequibo River in Guyana. It is the regional capital of Cuyuni-Mazaruni. Conside ...

(GFO) *Bemichi (BCG) *Ekereku (EKE) * Imbaimadai (IMB) * Kamarang (KAR) * Kurupung (KPG) * Lethem (LTM) *

Mabaruma Mabaruma is the administrative centre for Region One (Barima-Waini) of Guyana. It is located close to the Aruka River (the Venezuelan border) on a narrow plateau above the surrounding rainforest at an elevation of 13 metres. History Mabaruma wa ...

(USI) *

Mahdia Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse. Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as w ...

(MHA) * Matthews Ridge (MWJ)

Fleet

Boeing 707-323B, Guyana Airways AN0195072

VH-NOF B757-23A Guyana Air-2000 MAN 18JUN00 (6689112993)

Guyana Airways operated the following aircraft types during its existence:

Accidents and incidents

*On December 3, 1973, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter (registered 8R-GCP) crashed into a mountain while descending at Kurupung,

Cuyuni-Mazaruni Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region 7) is a region of Guyana. Venezuela claims the territory as part of Guayana Esequiba. It borders the regions of Barima-Waini, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara and Pomeroon-Supenaam to the north, the region of Upper De ...

. Only one of the four passengers survived. *On November 30, 1981, a

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with t ...

(registered N3486F) caught fire after an engine failure when taking off at

George F. L. Charles Airport George F. L. Charles Airport (commonly known as Vigie Airport) is the smaller of the two airports in Saint Lucia, the other being Hewanorra International Airport. It is located north of Castries, the capital city. George F. L. Charles Airport is ...

. The aircraft crashed near the airport, bursting into flames. All 3 crew members were killed.

References

External links

{{Transport in Guyana Defunct airlines of Guyana Airlines established in 1939 Airlines disestablished in 2001 1939 establishments in British Guiana 2001 disestablishments in Guyana British Guiana in World War II