What’s the real issue at the Beef Island Airport?
Operations at the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport on Beef Island came to a halt yesterday, marking the third reported instance of abrupt closure in recent weeks.
Despite this latest closure, there has been no official explanation from officials on the issues that are causing disruptions at a time when American Airlines is getting ready to increase the number of flights to the territory.
Yesterday’s closure caused a number of flight delays — one of which was an American Airlines (AA) commercial flight from Miami to Beef Island. That flight had to be diverted to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where passengers were subjected to an unanticipated layover.
Once normal operations resumed, the BVI Airports Authority released a statement apologising for the closure while stating that the airports on Virgin Gorda and Anegada will remain closed temporarily as a result of operational issues within the Fire Service.
However, the Airport Authority didn’t bother to offer any explanation as to why the Beef Island facility has just experienced its third closure in recent times.
The lack of explanation from the Airport Authority, the Premier, the minister responsible for ports or any other elected leader did not stop rumours from swirling among residents, who also crafted their own reasons for the workers’ alleged unrest. Some also suggested that affected travellers may lose confidence in the BVI as a destination.
As the airport struggles to maintain sustained, uninterrupted operations, residents continue to keep a watchful eye on the facility to see how these abrupt closures may affect the territory’s chances of attracting more direct flights from other airlines.
The territory also awaits an explanation from leaders who recently hosted a ‘non-stop concert’ in celebration of the historic deal with American Airlines that resulted in the resumption of direct flights from the US mainland to the BVI for the first time since the 1980s.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
A Board filled with elitists and a lying Minister
Everything under Kye is failing….Airport, Water & Sewage, Public Works, Ports and BVIEC
When will people realize that Kye Rymer is not a good working minister? He is a nice guy but everything under him has been a disaster from day one.
An inherited mess of poor badly maintained infrastructure. That taken together with a bad attitude from workers, poor performance, lack of incentives and broken promises leads us straight to the present situation in the BVI.
THE CIVIL SERVANTS NEED THEIR MONIES!!!! IF YOU CAN FIND MONEY TO HAVE TRAVEL & BIG BANGALONG…YOU SHOULD FIND MONEY TO PAY THEIR OUTSTANDING INCREMENTS. STORY DONE.
All of his projects are over-priced…The Market 1.7 million…Hunthums Ghut buildings over a million…The Complex elevator over a million…Burt point sewage plant repairs, another 1.7 million…The pier park gate system, only god knows
He messed up the traffic big time.
Would the $250,000 spent on a concert no one cared about, have been better spent improving the pay and conditions of airport workers and improving facilities?
Yes is answer Slowone.
MANAGEMENT.
Is the problem, the board believe his lies so much.
Just start your own air line.lol
The government has to come up with a plausible story that AA might swallow. However, there is already trouble in paradise and honeymoon issues. There are people with knowledge that know the AA flight is probably already on borrowed time. Not even the AA pilots want to bid for the flight. It’s too much damn trouble. Start with what happens when they cannot take off with a full load because of whatever reason. Now you don’t have a non stop flight because its got to get to San Juan or somewhere to refuel as has already happened. That’s now call a direct flight. When that happens the passengers are deplaned, go through customs and immigration, after refueling, reboard the flight. The only good thing about that is if the refuel was in Puerto Rico now the passengers are coming from a U.S. port so no more customs and immigration. And for those who will miss connections in Miami, if they luck San Juan might reroute them, but without luggage. See all that melee and confusion? That’s why AA’s pilots call in sick for that flight. Maybe the firemen didn’t know the kind of reign of terror their sick out was going to bring down on our “government”. However government needs to learn hard lessons about making promises they have no intention of keeping. Like giving working people what they deserve and were promised ages ago. Barry and the school chirren say you will hear.
The 250,000 is an investment,but when that investment come back it will disappear just like bvi plane and social security money that was spent during pandemic,a bunch of thief on the land,they playing the books but there are smarter people out their who know to make a difference without thieving money that know there are consequences.
This ‘incident’ cost my family close to $1500. We will not be returning to the BVI and will be forwarding our experience to others.
Kye,Theo and Patsy are causing a muck
@HONESTLY SPEAKING.
STACK ON POINT.. If Natalio can dismiss an Auditor General Report who is only lookkng at receipts of expenditure and saying what the expenditure was for what else can you expect. The firemen went home because they are tired of empty promises. Customs and Immigration next.
Nobody really cares when most government departments are dysfunctional, we adjust and wait in endless queues. However there are a couple that need effective management – like the airport. This lamebrain administration has made the BVI a laughing stock – again in the space of a couple of years. Roll on independence!
I heard from my aunties uncles friend that immigration was caught smuggling. Police came in to investigate but the bribe wasn’t enough to satisfy them.
You got off easy with $1500. I am at $4500 and still stuck
In St. Thomas. 2 days work as well
The island are so beautiful but it is easier and less expensive to go to Bora Bora after this fiasco. $4500 and still counting. Stuck
In St Thomas. It is funny that the taxi driver that brought us from the airport to the ferry knew more about what was happening then the airport staff.
The Moorings need to move to the USVI before I return.
People who strike and screw up tourists are stupid. You are literally screwing over the same People that pay your income! Having a sick out is a pathetic way to solve your issues and hurts us all more in the long run.
If people aren’t paying you then have the bravery to say it in public and just threaten the trouble if it doesn’t get resolved but with two days of issues at the airport we are shooting ourselves in the foot.
The issue is really poor management. They treat employees like pigs. They have no HR manager for YEEAAARRRSSSS. Who there either NOT qualified or ignorant as hell so how they will effectively deal with issues when you can’t even talk to them. IMO, The Managing Director has equal responsibility in this. Bad Fraser, good Fraser, airport NEVER shut down under his watch. Get a LOCAL back in the seat.
The burden rest heavily on the poor management of the BVIAA towards their employees! Treat your employees right and the business will flourish
The GM need to go nlthing else send him back trini the place just worst