Works Minister refutes airport strike claims
Communications & Works Minister, Kye Rymer, has dismissed claims made in some sections of the media that workers at the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport’s air traffic control tower went on strike last Friday.
The BVI Airports Authority (BVIAA) issued a statement on Friday announcing the airport’s temporary closure but only described it as an ‘operational issue at the control tower’. In a subsequent statement after the airport reopened on saturday, the Authority specified that it “could not satisfy the minimum requirement in staffing levels to ensure continuous operations of the control tower.
Meanwhile, Minister Rymer’s statement sought to dispel any speculation of a strike while emphasising the commitment of the Air Traffic Controllers and the proactive measures being taken to rectify the staffing concerns.
Rymer also apologised to the public for what he described as the ‘domino effect of issues’ caused by the airport’s temporary closure.
“While I recognise the many challenges faced today, I am pleased to report that there was no industrial action taken by the staff at our Air Traffic Control Tower,” Rymer stated.
In further debunking the strike claims, Rymer added: “We are indeed blessed with a team of Air Traffic Controllers that are dedicated, passionate and fully committed to their careers and the stability and growth of the VI’s economy.”
According to the minister, the issues faced were simply as a result of the authority’s inability to satisfy a regulatory requirement with regards to staffing levels.
The BVIAA has been addressing the staffing issue at all levels and on an ongoing basis to ensure a permanent solution, Rymer explained.
The Authority is currently undergoing a recruitment drive which it said will increase the manpower within the Air Traffic Control Unit and promised to continue to deliver exemplary aviation services in the interim while upholding its motto of ‘Safety is our #1 Priority.’
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
We are living in a malacious and increasingly unjust society.
I dont believe a word of it
words to describe what really happened on Fri. afternoon at the Beef island airport. The qualified ATC on duty that day could not be relieved by another qualified ATC at 2pm.
Appears that more qualified ATC’s need to be hired to prevent this mid day closure event from happening again.
Would the minister or the BVIAA perhaps address the consequences of such closures to travellers. Missed flights, overnight cost to name a few.. I travelled just hours before the closure and was lucky. Had I traveled 2 hours later and had to rebook I would expect the cost of such to be covered by them. The closure was a completely avoidable situation. No one can realistically claim an “Act of God” here. As such most insurances may not cover the cost…..Not sure that I really believe the reasoning, because if true we will have many more closures until there are new controllers….
If i were a betting person, I would say the lawyer told him to say so because AA is watching.
HAS A CHEERFUL SMILE ? ON HIS FACE , WHILE OUR NATIONAL AIRPORT WAS SHUT DOWN ,AS IF IT WAS NOT ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT ? WHETHER IT WAS A STRIKE OR NOT , WAS IT NEGLIGENCE / INCOMPETENCE OR LACKADAISICALNESS , ) THE COUNTRY HAS A REPUTATION TO LIVE UP TO ,IF THIS IS ONE , I HOPE IT DOSEN’T BECOME A HABIT / WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE 21ST CENTURY / HOPEFULLY ( CSC ) WORDS WON’T COME TRUE , OR WE TRULY FRIG ?
There is a history of Colonial style paternalistic buck passing, professional obfuscation and plain old lies told to the people of the VI by our government.
Until transparency and truth are common, the people have every right to question, gossip and speculate.
Of course, once we do have transparency, citizens must recognize that we have hired (with our votes) people better qualified that ourselves to run the Territory and stop trying to micromanage.
We must also recognize that if we truly want to move forward as a Territory and one day, Country, mistakes will be made- some leftover and some new. IF there is transparency, place blame where necessary- but not every mistake requires judgement. We now live in the great western culture of blame. Without mistakes, there can be no progress. We only need to be INFORMED.
We must demand transparency; justifying an airport shutdown with a press release that (kinds sorta) blames technical failure when we should darn well have backup equipment—then the next day, another press release hinting that workers were sick (when we could get emergency tower help over here from PR in an hour) is JUST NOT ACCEPTABLE.
‘Domino effect’The Minister is correct- all one big game of dominoes