Aspiring pilots can now train in Guyana – President Ali launches NGAP+ programme
Guyana’s aviation future entered a new era on Tuesday afternoon as President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali officially launched the ICAO Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Plus (NGAP+) Programme at the Pegasus Corporate Suites in Georgetown.
The institution will train and certify Guyanese across all aviation fields, like pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers, ground crew, safety inspectors, freight and logistics professionals.
“Aspiring pilots will earn their wings right here in Guyana,” President Ali affirmed.
He added that as senior aviation professionals transition into regulatory roles, new space is opening up fast that must be filled by a trained and disciplined workforce.
He told the gathering of cadets, students, aviation pioneers and international partners that the initiative is a strategic national investment, designed to prepare Guyanese talent for an aviation boom already underway.
“We will need an entire new generation of professionals, and we must prepare them at a rapid pace.”
The programme brings together the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the International Air Cadets Training Limited of the United Kingdom, the Air Cadets of Guyana, and the University of Guyana.
“We are clearing a new flight path for our nation’s future,” President Ali declared. “This is not an initiative by accident or chance. Each partner here has brought their expertise, their vision and their commitment to this critical mission.”
President Ali said that both international and domestic air travel are expanding rapidly as Guyana undertakes massive development across all regions.
“Our skies are becoming busier each month,” he said, noting that more international carriers are charting routes to Guyana while domestic aviation continues to extend deeper into the interior.
“No region, no community will be left on the tarmac of progress. We will connect urban to rural and rural to hinterland, not just by road or river, but by the most powerful connector of all: the air.”
This connectivity, he said, is central to the government’s philosophy of inclusive development.
To support this expanding sector, President Ali outlined a series of infrastructure investments already underway:
- A new terminal at Cheddi Jagan International Airport
- Upgraded municipal airports at Lethem and Rose Hall are being developed into regional gateways
- Expansion and rehabilitation of hinterland airstrips
- Runway extensions nationwide
“We are ensuring our physical infrastructure has the altitude to match our economic ambition,” the President said.
Turning to the young cadets and students, the first cohort of the programme, the president delivered a powerful charge:
“Consider yourselves as having earned an important and valuable opportunity. In aviation, there is no room for ‘almost’. There is only ‘correct’. The future of aviation in Guyana is not just bright, it is dazzling.”
He encouraged them to embrace discipline and precision as they begin training for roles that will define Guyana’s connectivity for decades to come.