Airport parking amnesty runs until May 31

The BVI Airports Authority (BVIAA) has announced a temporary amnesty for all vehicles parked at the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport, giving owners until May 31 to remove them without paying any parking fees or penalties.

The amnesty comes as the BVIAA prepares to launch a new automated parking system to replace the outdated one that has been out of service for several months.

“For the last few months, actually more than a few months, our system has been down because it was obsolete,” BVIAA Managing Director Kurt Menal explained in an interview with ZBVI Radio.

“During the period when it wasn’t working, patrons were allowed to park for free, essentially. So everybody entered the parking lot for free, paying nothing,” Menal stated.

He explained that a new system with upgraded features is being installed.

“We’re going to be putting in new arms, new pay-on-foot machines. Everything is on the ground already. We’re just going to install, then test, and it will take us up until the end of May to go live,” he explained. Menal clarified that the amnesty period will end at midnight on 31 May.

“Effective midnight on 1st June, everybody will have to revert to paying again,” he said. He also warned that vehicles still parked in the lot after the deadline would start incurring fees from June 1, regardless of how long they have been there.

“If you are in there on the morning of the 1st of June, you start to incur charges,” he stated.

The parking system failure resulted in a prolonged period of unpaid vehicle access, and the BVIAA now seeks to restore normal operations ahead of the airport’s planned expansion. The expansion project aims to lengthen the runway to 7,000 feet, making it possible to accommodate larger aircraft.

The project recently moved forward with the submission of a business case by consultants, which is now under review by Cabinet.