Airport struggling with historical staffing issues
The BVI Airports Authority (BVIAA) continues to grapple with several legacy staffing issues and this has been highlighted as the main reason behind two abrupt closures that the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport and other facilities experienced recently.
This is according to Managing Director of the BVIAA, Kurt Menal, who told reporters at a press conference yesterday that the entity continues to have struggles in filling its quota, both for Air Traffic Controllers and for Fire Service Officers.
Menal said the airport was unable to meet regulatory requirements for staffing during its recently reported staff sickouts — particularly in the technical areas of security, fire service, aerodrome fire service, and Air Traffic Control (ATC).
He noted that it was for this reason that he would not agree that the airport was subjected to strike action by its staff as reported in some sections of the media.
“We are guided in terms of aerodrome firefighting and ATC by the Overseas Territories aviation regulations,” Menal told the media. “So, those are not new issues, they’re actually historical issues that the Airport Authority has been struggling with long before I got here — for years now.”
According to Menal, the key consideration to be made in the context of the BVIAA’s struggles is that replacing or complementing the current batch of Air Traffic Controllers or Fire Service Officers takes a considerable amount of time.
Menal explained that it takes roughly six months for an ATC Officer to be trained abroad and another year for them to become certified once they return. He said a similar situation occurs for the Aerodrome Rescue Fire Services.
He further disclosed that the BVIAA faced a deficit of approximately 13 staff members recently — bumping airport operations below the required number for the entity to be able to meet the specific category at which American Airlines and other larger aircraft carriers operate.
Menal said the Authority has been aware of the staffing issues and has been actively addressing them for many months before the appointment of the new board.
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Yet again, bad management and planning are to blame. Get in experts in this field to run the facility – and a Board that truly understands what to do and who are not just some local worthies placed by their political friends.
Sounds like a lot of jobs that out of work locals could be getting training for!
I tellin u need a job all now
Bro it ain’t worth it, why do you think up there got so many problems? You going to be a number to them, just check all the staff complaints and issues. Save yourself the headache!
The staff are a big part of the problem! They are all rude and unhelpful. This is one of the worst airports I have ever been through for this reason. Welcome to BVI? What a joke!
Eliminate the BVIAA and just hire a private contractor to operate all the airports in the BVI. Also exempt all their employees from BVI Labour and Immigration laws.
What??? the work world a adulthood is not just about dream job. Get a training, secure the job and feed your family!
It’s time to take off the blinders worn by so very, very many government departments here. These are skilled positions, technical positions. Firefighting (god forbid we should need to use them!) and Air Traffic Controller… Are the positions open to non-BVIslanders? Maybe these jobs should be wide open?
NO CONFIDENCE
When you don’t let people use and control you, your rude. But the persons that want to use you, you can’t use them. People around here like to play the one-sided game.
Our international staff of fully qualified employees will manage and operate all the BVI airports. Thanks, the non stop airline.
We are a third world nation.
We want to bring ourselves up but can’t overcome the basic needs to support our tourism product.
Allyuh MS ain’t see nothing yet. Hold on man
The X Premier had the solution to all these Problems..1/ He wanted to Put all Ports under one head, one board, thats the solution, none of the Ports running or been manage properly, that’s why we have all these Problem. Our present leader don’t have the will or the courage, he just wants to be liked. I pray for a britain over so all these issues can get fixed..
Typical of us. We gain something that benefits us all – new airline service. Then we shoot ourselves in the foot by not staffing the airport.
One step forward. Two back.
Welcome to the BVI
Why in tarnasian name the bvi airport is short staff ?
But then ayo driving people out of the country
The high school or HLSCc should liase with the government institutions and encourage the young students to be trained for these jobs .So many people unemployed . When last have you all send a batch of officers to be trained in UK
Or Bring a personal to train the young people instead those in charge pounding away on meetings after meetings with know productions . Short sighted people running these institutions
How many BVI islanders trained in this field and the powers that be ain’t give them jobs when then applied. And I talking about students who graduated university with honors
cant have and feed your family on that salary
they have done all of this. but when the students see the kind of work for the pay, they bounce in less that a month or 2. and I am not joking. this is a fact 10 plus years in the making.
Hell they cant recruit abroad because no one wants to come here for the lousy salary they offering.
The sad reality is for a job that has so much responsibility the compensation does not match.
Here you have trained professionals tasked with ensuring the safe control of aircraft carrying passengers and cargo being compensated peanuts, even having to get a second job on their days off to make ends meet. That’s not right. God forbid an incident were to occur and the controller was found at fault that could translate to criminal prosecution of that controller.
This is not just a job, it’s a profession. The training is intense and it is one of those situations where only the best of the best complete it.
Salary should match responsibility. Plain and simple.
Besides alary I bet they have a ton of A HOLES in management positions abusing their positions.