As cracks and holes continue to appear on the runway of Argyle International Airport’s (AIA), the government will have to allocate EC$32 million to fix the perennial problem.
Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Godwin Friday told lawmakers that the tarmac “is in very poor condition” and is a “big bill” for the AIA.
The AIA is this country’s largest capital project to date, costing EC$700 million and funded through loans, grants, and in-kind contributions.
“There’s a particular section that when the planes land, it gets disturbed. And every few days, this seems to me that they have to repair it. And this has been going on for years,” the prime minister said during the debate of the 2026 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure
“This is not something that just happened when we formed government,” siad Friday, who led the New Democratic Party to 14-1 victory on Nov. 27, over the Unity Labour Party, which built the airport that opened in 2017.
“And this is something that is critically important, especially now in tourist season, you can’t stop the flight from coming to fix it.”
Friday said the tarmac problem “should have been fixed a long time ago” because it is going to “cost a hell of a lot of money…
“This year, we have put $12 million in the budget for it, and an overall cost of over $32 million to repair the runway,” Friday said.
About two months ago, the holes on the runway resulted in the airport being downgraded temporarily and some flights being cancelled or delayed.
iWitness News, which has been reporting since February 2025 about the recurring problems, noted last December that the potholes have been appearing “as quickly as they are patched”.
During a plane spotting event at the airport in December, iWitness News saw when a Miami-bound American Airlines flight AA3098, a Boeing 737-823, began taxing out to the runway before turning around and returning to the ramp.
Two pick-up trucks then drove to a section of the runway, the occupants exited, and appeared to be picking up items from the surface and placing them in plastic buckets.
iWitness News subsequently learnt that the aircraft had refused to take off because of a hole that had appeared in the runway.
The situation delayed a Caribbean Airlines flight, BWA554 to New York, a Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, which departed the airport at 7:56 p.m. that day.
However, the American Airlines flight was cancelled because the crew had exhausted their duty time.
The next day, the US Federal Aviation Authority issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen/Air Missions) informing that the AIA had been temporarily downgraded to accommodate aircraft with a maximum take-off weight below 225,000lbs.
This led to the cancellation of the Virgin Atlantic flight scheduled to operate between London and St. Vincent via Barbados.
Ok I’m going to be frank , don’t worry, Taiwan government will step in to help again.
This is what they wanted all the time. I try to tell you that a simple person from your own country has the solution but you won’t listen. Just because someone don’t have education does not make they dunce. I am just watching you all. When things get so bad and another country take over your small island like JA I’ll see what you will do.
The chickens are coming home to roost and the taxpayers of this great nation has to pay the bill. Thank you wreck-it Ralph, for your ongoing legacy of dispair and disrepair.
The central police station closed – disrepair
The PM official residence closed – disrepair.
The general hospital – opened in disrepair
But you were the “best” thing ever for SVG.
However God be praised you are out and no longer relevant. The NDP got this.