Are Private Flights Sanctioned to Land in Belize?

Dean Barrow

According to PM Barrow in the House today, he is fine with private flights landing at the P.G.I.A. as long as all protocols are met.  The arrival of an airplane recently, however, is of particular interest since little is known about the passenger, save to say that he proceeded to San Pedro after touching down at the P.G.I.A. and remained on the island for as long as ten days.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“I personally support the private flights because remember, there are protocols as to how you can get to be allowed permission to come or to go on a private flight and I think the protocols, the safeguards are sound.  When we had the National Oversight Committee meeting on Monday, the question was raised and debated: Should the allowances for private flights continue?  And the unanimous answer was yes.  Remember, you come on that private flight, the [Department] of Civil Aviation must sign off, immigration must sign off, health must sign off and the one and only attorney general as the Ministry of National Security must also sign off.  You’ve got to bring your COVID negative test with you and, for example, in the case of Atlantic, they’re private plane came, the persons had their COVID negative certificates.  I believe they had their meeting at the bank, they stayed at a quarters right upstairs there and then the next day they go to the airport and leave.  I can’t see that there’s a problem with that and their business is still continuing which they own in this country.  I don’t see that it can be fair to exclude them from coming.  In terms of one of the other flights you mentioned, the one on the tenth, I believe, I’m still trying to get to the bottom of that, that’s what we spoke of.  I know who is responsible now for having asked permission for the flight to come.  I’m trying to find out now if it was with a single occupant… I’m trying to find out where that person stayed.  The person came, got on a local airline, went to San Pedro and left ten days after.  But where did he go?  If we fell down there I will get down to the bottom of it and I will make a report to the media.”