GUYANA’S NATIONAL AIRPORT, Cheddi Jagan International, saw passenger arrivals at an all-time high this summer, with 34,796 passengers reported in August. Arrivals for the first eight months of 2017 increased 7 percent, with the rise attributed to Guyana’s leg of the Caribbean Premier League cricket tournament and a strong business travel sector, according to Guyana’s minister of public infrastructure, David Patterson.

To accommodate growing passenger numbers to the South American travel hub the airport embarked on a $150 million expansion project, but in May it exhausted its budget, turning to international financing partner The Export-Import Bank of China and the National Assembly for the remainder of the financing needed to complete the project. Originally scheduled for completion in May, the expansion is now on track for December.

The project includes a terminal building expansion with eight passenger boarding bridges for smoother arrivals and departures; an expanded departure area; and extended runways from 7,500 to 10,800 feet to accommodate larger aircraft.

Patterson said the airport’s priorities looking ahead lie with the South American market as well as legacy and low-cost carriers for the North American sector. While New York remains the largest market, there has been an upsurge of late in destinations including Cuba and Panama. Air transport plays a vital role in the development of Guyana, providing a link between coastal areas and more remote destinations. Until 2010 Cheddi was the only international airport in Guyana, before the International Civil Aviation Organization conferred international status to the air terminal at Ogle Airport — the hub for domestic flights to the country’s interior.

Cheddi offers primarily domestic service with international service to/from Toronto (YYZ), New York (JFK) and Miami (MIA). In September Dynamic International Airways drastically cut its number of flights to Guyana, reducing service from five weekly flights to just one. The reduction in flights will likely result in Caribbean Airlines, the major carrier on the Guyana– United States route, doubling its fares. The other carriers offering U.S. routes include Fly Jamaica, Suriname Airways and Dynamic Aviation.

Located on the banks of the Demerara River 25 miles south of the capital city of Georgetown, Cheddi had its origins as a U.S. military air base in 1941 during World War II. In 1969 it was named Timehri International Airport before adopting its current name in 1997.