British Airways announced that it will connect London with Georgetown (GEO) in Guyana and Aruba (AUA) for the 2023 northern hemisphere summer season. It will be the first time that both destinations will be part of the airline’s network of destinations.
The flights will be operated from Gatwick (LGW), via Saint Lucia (UVF) for Guyana, and via Antigua and Barbuda (ANU) for Aruba, using fifth-freedom rights.
Aruba adds a new player
The route between London and Aruba will start on March 26, will have twice weekly flights operated on Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with a capacity of 336 and 332 passengers depending on the variant.
- London/Gatwick (LGW) – Antigua and Barbuda (ANU) / Flight BA 2157 / LGW 10:00 – ANU 13:35 Thursdays and Sundays.
- Antigua and Barbuda (ANU) – Aruba (AUA) / Flight BA 2157 / ANU 14:35 – AUA 16:00 Thursday and Sunday.
- Aruba (AUA) – Antigua and Barbuda (ANU) / Flight BA 2156 / AUA 08:30 – ANU 20:15 Thursdays and Sundays.
- Antigua and Barbuda (ANU) – London/Gatwick (LGW) / Flight BA 2156 / ANU 21:15 – LGW 10:15 (+1) Thursdays and Sundays.
United Kingdom is Aruba’s third most important market: in 2019 they received 10,882 British tourists. Currently, the only airline operating between the two markets is TUI Airways, with a weekly flight between March and October.
British Airways will be the fourth airline to connect the island with Europe, as KLM and TUIfly Netherlands also operate from Amsterdam (in addition to the TUI Airways schedule).
An historic milestone for Guyana
On the other hand, Guyana will have for the first time in its history a direct connection to Europe. Usually, to reach the South American country one had to fly through Barbados or Trinidad and Tobago.
The service will start on March 27, will have two weekly flights and will be also operated by Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with same capacity configurations than the Aruba flight: 336 and 332 passengers.
- London/Gatwick (LGW) – St. Lucia (UVF) / Flight BA 2159 / LGW 11:35 – UVF 15:35 Monday and Thursday.
- St. Lucia (UVF) – Georgetown (GEO) / Flight BA 2159 / UVF 16:25 – GEO 18:05 Monday and Thursday.
- Georgetown (GEO) – St. Lucia (UVF) / Flight BA 2158 / GEO 19:50 – UVF 20:15 Monday and Thursday.
- St. Lucia (UVF) – London/Gatwick (LGW) / Flight BA 2158 / UVF 22:15 – LGW 11:45 (+1) Thursdays and Sundays.
Guyana’s Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, had expressed in 2021 during the landing of interCaribbean that they were negotiating with British airlines to connect Cheddi Jagan International Airport with London.
Both countries have a particularly important cultural link, given that Guyana is the only South American country that was a former British colony.
In 2019, 7,630 Britons arrived in the country and more than 27,000 Guyanese reside in the United Kingdom, according to the UK Department of Migration.
