Red flag! Turnbull cites low morale, overworked staff at BVIAA

Representative of the Second District where Jost Van Dyke is located, Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull.

Opposition legislator Melvin Turnbull has drawn attention to what he described as a lack of morale and other troubling concerns at the BVI Airports Authority (BVIAA).

“There is a lack of confidence, there is a lack of support or even morale capacity within the employees there. They are overworked,” Turnbull said during the House of Assembly’s budget debate yesterday.

Turnbull said these matters are further compounded by several resignations that the authority has faced in the past few years.

“The board of directors at the Airports Authority have now seen three managing directors, a financial controller and the director of operations resign since the board has taken effect,” he stated.

The legislator expressed fear that things could go awry at any given time without the necessary competent persons in place.

“I won’t want to ever hear, God forbid, that there’s an incident at the airport or with an aircraft coming in and the proper persons weren’t in place to do what they need to do and we had been or are aware that there is a situation that we haven’t done anything about,” he expressed.

“An airport is not a candy shop, it is something that deals with the lives of persons. From your air traffic controllers to the people on the ground, to the people everywhere. [They all] have to be in place. Safety is of utmost importance” Turnbull added.

According to Turnbull, a new Managing Director is expected in the territory shortly. That new administrator would take the place of Clive Smith, who is said to be leaving office.

Turnbull, in the meantime, also called for a ‘serious introspection’ to address some of the concerns faced by the authority.

The government is yet to publicly address these reports.

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