Turistdepartementet og Turistrådet på Turks- og Caicosøyene, i samarbeid med Aviation Connection, var vertskap for det 11. årlige guvernørgeneralens Cup Caribbean Air Rally på JAGS McCartney International Airport mandag 5. desember 2022. Velkommen til Grand Turk var en armada av tjueen fly, med førtiåtte besetningsmedlemmer, med opprinnelse fra Canada, USA og Europa, som lander på øya for den to dager lange feiringen. Den kvelden ble det arrangert en velkomstcocktailseremoni på "Waterloo", guvernørens offisielle residens i Grand Turk.
The Governor General’s Cup Air Rally is an annual event covered by major international aviation and travel magazines. Since its inception in 2001, the International Air Rally team puts together one of the largest International Air Rallies in the region.
The GGC Air Rally event is also a fundraising opportunity to introduce aviation, artificial intelligence (AI), and other STEM programs in high schools across Canada and USA. With the Air Rally, Aviation Connection hopes to extend to the Caribbean region. Each year, Aviation Connection offers a flight simulator to a school in one of the countries visited. This year, the Helena Jones Robinson High School was selected as the beneficiary of a Microsoft Flight simulator and received a special presentation ceremony on their campus on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.
For the sixth time, the Air Rally launched from the shores of Grand Turk, where a number of students from the Helena Jones Robinson High School enjoyed a tour of the aircrafts. The goal of the Governor General’s Cup Caribbean Air Rally is to promote the beauty, safety and the advantages of flying in the Caribbean, and to highlight the region as an ideal destination for general aviation.
“It was an honour to be a part of the 11th Annual Governor General’s Cup Caribbean Air Rally. This event results in amazing coverage for the Turks and Caicos Islands, but most importantly and especially this year, it provides our youth with a strong introduction to aviation, artificial intelligence, and other STEM programs”, said Minister of Tourism, Hon. Josephine Connolly. “We thank the International Air Rally team for donating a flight simulator to Grand Turk’s Helena Jones Robinson High School and we look forward to welcoming them back to the Turks and Caicos Islands for the 12th Annual Governor General’s Cup Caribbean Air Rally”, added Hon. Connolly.
The Acting Governor, H.E. Anya Williams, Acting Premier and Minister of Finance, Investment, and Trade, Hon. E. Jay Saunders, Minister of Education, Labour, Employment and Customer Service, Hon. Rachel Taylor, Minister of Home Affairs, Public Utilities and Transportation, Hon. Otis Morris, the Acting Director of Tourism, Mary Lightbourne, as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority were also on hand to welcome the International Air Rally Team.
The delegation departed the Beautiful by Nature Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday, December 7, 2022 en route to Nevis.
