Fresh geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran have spilled over into global energy markets, sending shockwaves through Guyana’s small domestic aviation sector. The head of the country’s leading aviation industry body announced Monday that immediate price increases for aircraft fuel will translate to higher travel costs for passengers, particularly those flying to interior regions of the South American nation.
Learie Barclay, President of the Aviation Operators’ Association of Guyana (AOAG), confirmed that fare adjustments will take effect starting Tuesday, leaving domestic carriers with no alternative but to pass steep new fuel costs onto consumers. He noted that the sector had only recently implemented a fuel price reduction, leaving operators with no remaining buffer to absorb new upward price pressures.
“There is no waiting this out. We’ve just had a price reduction so there isn’t really a margin to do much absorption. The prices will definitely rise. I can’t tell you by how much… The prices are definitely going to rise starting tomorrow,” Barclay told local outlet Demerara Waves Online News.
Breakdown of the cost increases shows a dramatic divergence across fuel grades: aviation gasoline, the primary fuel for smaller piston-engine aircraft, will rise by 11 percent, while the acquisition cost of aviation jet fuel for larger turbine-engine planes is projected to jump by as much as 75 percent. Turbine-engine aircraft will bear the brunt of the price shock, Barclay said, though smaller propeller-driven aircraft will also face measurable cost increases.
As a small-volume fuel consumer with limited market bargaining power, Guyana’s aviation sector is disproportionately vulnerable to global price volatility, according to Barclay. “We are at the lower end of the usage. We don’t have the amount of clout in terms of what we buy so we are one of the countries that will be affected the most by this,” he explained.
While fares will increase, Barclay clarified that the percentage rise in ticket prices will be lower than the percentage jump in fuel costs, since fuel accounts for between 38 and 40 percent of airlines’ total operational expenses. Beyond direct fuel costs, the price hike is also expected to ripple through the sector, pushing up the cost of aircraft parts and other critical operational inputs.
Barclay added that the AOAG has not yet received any commitment or outreach from the Guyanese government regarding fuel subsidies to offset the increases, though he remains hopeful that policy discussions will be convened to address the crisis. To insulate the country from future global energy price shocks, the AOAG chief is calling for long-term investment in domestic or regional refining capacity.
“As a producer of raw materials, I think that we can produce our own avgas and avjet and bring the cost down,” he said, urging the government to move forward with plans to build a local refinery or secure access to a nearby facility.
The Guyanese government has already signaled it is exploring strategies to buffer the domestic market from global energy volatility caused by international conflict. It has actively courted Middle Eastern oil producers to construct large-scale bulk fuel storage facilities within the country, and President Irfaan Ali recently proposed that a share of Guyana’s crude oil could be processed at Trinidad and Tobago’s idled Petrotrin refinery once it resumes operations.