GCAA Director General elected Chairman of CASSOS

Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Egbert Field, has been elected Chairman of Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS) for a two-year term.

The election was done at the 28th Board of Directors Meeting of CASSOS which was held in Trinidad and Tobago from May 4.

This is the first time that Guyana and the GCAA have assumed the chairmanship of the regional aviation body. Previous chairmanships have been held by Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica, each represented by their respective Director General.

CASSOS is the regional inter-governmental organisation mandated to provide civil aviation safety and security oversight services to its Member States.

Established to support the smaller aviation administrations of the Caribbean region, CASSOS serves as a shared mechanism through which States can collectively meet their obligations under the Chicago Convention, the foundational treaty governing international civil aviation.

Guyana is assuming the leadership of CASSOS at a pivotal and transformative juncture for the organisation.

The regional body is actively seeking to build its capacity and capability to help its Member States enhance oversight of their aviation activities, improve their compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and standardise their regulations.

“Guyana will work with the Member States of CASSOS as a team to tackle common issues and challenges confronting the region. We are better and stronger together,” Field said.

The 28th Board of Directors Meeting was attended by several prominent international institutions, all of which pledged their continued support to CASSOS and its renewed mission. These institutions include the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) – represented by both the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACC) and South American (SAM) regional offices – as well as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the French Civil Aviation Safety Directorate (French West Indies and French Guiana).

“This chairmanship is for Guyana and the Caribbean Community and a signal of the role Guyana must play in taking the Region’s Aviation sector to new heights. President Ali has committed to Guyana playing a greater role in CARICOM and this role gives Guyana the opportunity to do more for the region,” says Deodat Indar, Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation.

“Guyana’s chairmanship of CASSOS is not merely a national honour, it is a shared responsibility to the Caribbean Community, and one that will be exercised with the highest degree of professionalism, collaboration, and dedication to the people of the region,” GCAA said in a statement.