President Irfaan Ali said on Wednesday that Guyana is looking for a major international airline to make the new Terminal Two at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) its hub. He added that the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation has been told to begin discussions with carriers interested in using the terminal as a base. He spoke at the opening ceremony of the third Global RSOO and RAIO Forum on Aviation Safety, which is organised by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Dr Ali said the government wants a partner "who will take Terminal Two as their hub." He said negotiations would target airlines able to use Guyana's position to connect passengers to South America, the Caribbean and West Africa. "We are ready to finalise those negotiations," he said. He did not name any airline, and the report of his remarks gives no date for talks to begin or conclude.

The forum is held for regional safety oversight and accident investigation bodies. Its opening session was the setting for the president's comments, and they were made alongside other aviation announcements in Georgetown on the same day, including the signing of an air services agreement with Greece.

Terminal Two is under construction at CJIA. The new building is planned at 150,000 square feet and is meant to handle growing traffic by adding space and facilities. The existing international terminal will be reconfigured. Budget 2026 allocated $3.2 billion to the project, and preparatory work began in 2025. The source does not state the currency of that figure, and the Guyana dollar is the usual unit in the national budget. President Ali led the sod-turning ceremony in August 2025. At that event he said the aim was for CJIA to become a major point of arrival and departure and a transit station for travellers between South America, Africa, and North and Central America.

The government has also set out plans for new municipal airports and upgrades to hinterland airstrips. President Ali told the forum that Guyana's task is to position the country as a global provider in aviation. These are statements of intent by the government, and none has been tested by a signed agreement with a carrier.

The president gave several reasons why the country could attract a hub operator. He pointed to Guyana's geography, its spending on infrastructure, its institutional capacity, its partnerships and its investment in training and human development. The expansion is taking place as international travel to Guyana increases, a rise the report links to economic growth and to interest from investors and tourists. No passenger figures were given.

A hub is an airport where an airline concentrates its flights so that passengers can change between long-haul and regional services. An airline would normally decide to base one at an airport on the strength of local demand, transfer traffic, operating costs and the terms offered by the host government. The report does not say what terms Guyana would propose, whether any incentives are planned, or whether an airline has already shown interest. It also does not give a date for the opening of Terminal Two.

A stated aim to attract a hub carrier is not an agreement. The practical test will be whether the ministry begins formal negotiations and whether any airline confirms that it is willing to base operations at CJIA. Until a carrier is named and terms are published, the plan remains an ambition set out by the president.

‍