Bequia airport now slated to reopen Monday

The JF Mitchell Airport in Bequia, which has been closed since July 1 because of the passage of Hurricane Beryl, is now slated to reopen on Monday.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told Parliament on Thursday that some cleaning of the aerodrome was expected to take place on the weekend, ahead of the reopening.

He was responding to a question from Opposition Leader Godwin Friday, a Bequia resident, who noted the critical importance of airports to internal transportation and the tourism industry in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Friday said there was apparent light damage to the JF Mitchell Airport by the hurricane. He asked Gonsalves to tell the national assembly why the airport remained closed for several weeks after the hurricane passed.    

Gonsalves told Parliament that the airport was targeted to reopen on Aug.19. but the date was revised to Monday — Aug. 26.

“It’s not accurate to say that the damage was light. I know you put the adverb ‘apparently’ before it,” the prime minister, however, said.

He said that on July 2, he received a report from Deputy Director of Grenadines Affairs, Carlos Williams, who lives in Bequia.

The prime minister said that James reported that JF Mitchell Airport suffered minor roof damage but the stone seawall defence was severely compromised.

The runway was covered with seawall boulders and other deposits from the sea and there was evidence of washout between the seawall and the grassed area along the runway edge that needed to be investigated, the prime minister further said.

The prime minister quoted Williams as saying that from his untrained eyes, there were no signs of runway damage but “personnel” had told him that the runway was compromised in some areas.

Gonsalves said he received subsequent reports, adding that the investigation into the damage done to the coastal protection was not yet complete.

“… but it is clear that we have to strengthen the sea defence, otherwise we going to have problems with the airport,” the prime minister said, adding that the sea defence does not hamper the reopening of the airport.

“… but we need to address that in the short term and sections of the perimeter fence on the northeast side of the airport sustained damage and have since been repaired,” he told lawmakers.

He said the storm surge deposited huge amounts of debris on the runway and the strip.

However, removing the debris deposited along the runway edge required heavy equipment and a grader to complete the work on the surface to avoid small debris being left behind that may become a hazard to aircraft engines.

Gonsalves said the clean-up work had been ongoing since the closure of the airport. What is called the bay high side was shut down on June 30 and restored by the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority technician on July 11, with further checks on July 23.

“During this period, there was no internet, nor telephone communication available, which meant that the controller would be unable to coordinate with Argyle approach or the fire service, and the required information, including the wind speed and direction, was unavailable from the automatic weather station.”

Gonsalves noted that these are critical for safe air traffic control operations.

He said that the realignment of the antenna and solar panels was completed on the automatic weather station on Aug. 9 and real-time wind data is now available.

“However, there are still communication connectivity issues that are being addressed by FLOW. The rain has hampered the clean-up of the strip, as the area became waterlogged and the equipment was unable to operate, and this remains the major setback.”

The prime minister said that a grader was put on site and work was to continue on Aug. 15, with the targeted opening date of Aug. 19.

“But that didn’t happen,” Gonsalves said, adding that he asked the director of civil aviation for an update so he would give it to Parliament.

Gonsalves quoted the director of airports as saying that the Argyle International Airport and BRAGSA teams were unable to achieve the work required to accomplish this.

Owing to the saturated ground, the machine experienced difficulty operating on Aug. 15 and 16. However, some work was done on Aug. 17 and 18 and the debris was being cleared and placed at collection points for removal.

However, rain in the latter part of Aug. 18 and 19 hampered the progress of the work.

The debris removal and grading of the grass strip were scheduled for Friday, Aug. 23 and, weather permitting, the runway would be swept.

“The sweeper is being sent to Bequia and sweeping will begin once the debris and heavy equipment, they’re off the strip,” the prime minister said.

“Final checks are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 24, and the reopening is scheduled for the 26th of August,” Gonsalves said.

He said he had asked the director of civil aviation if there had been a real challenge to getting people to and from Bequia other than by the airport.

“And she said no; that one operator, one hotel, requested on two occasions to have persons transported by air, and she couldn’t give permission, but they were transported by ferry service.”

Gonsalves also noted that the airports in Canouan and Union Island, two of the southern Grenadines islands that were severely impacted by the storm, are also not open.

“The difference is the situation in Bequia is very different than the situation in Union and Canouan,” Gonsalves said.

He said that although there was “terrible” roof damage in Union Island, some things remained intact as was also the case in Canaan.

He said the director of airports would permit flights to land in both Canouan and Union Island.

“And she assures me that everyone who requests for those islands, for those airports, permission for individual flights, you tell them which aircraft, how many persons aboard, and so on. She gives permission because it’s important for humanitarian purposes,” the prime minister told Parliament.