BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - LONG-HAUL flights to Grenada has been put on hold as officials in St. Georges reportedly downgraded the international airport due to emergency concerns.
Reports out of St. Georges indicated that the Maurice Bishop International Airport was voluntarily downgraded due to fire safety concerns, as the airport does not have a backup of safety supplies to combat plane fires.
Now Grenada reported Today (Oct. 13) that the airport’s management made the move following what was described as the “late arrival of supplies for the fire service” to effectively deal with emergencies.
The decision caught many tourists off guard, forcing the cancellation of the British Airways flight that was scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
The island’s Minister of Tourism, Clarence Modeste, confirmed the decision where she explained the circumstances resulting in the downgrading.
According to Now Grenada, the Minister said the BA flight was all booked with a complete load, but upon investigating, based on the size of the plane, a number of materials had to be present at the airport many of which were not in proper order by the Grenadian officials.
“...based on the size of the plane you have to have certain materials so that if there is a fire you have to have enough foam to put out the fire and dry chemical,” the minister was quoted as saying by the news entity.”
Providing further details, the Minister explained that the airport had some in storage and when they tested it recently, they realised it was not satisfactory.
“While in storage it had deteriorated to some extent and Could not be used, so they had to inform British Airways.”
This would be a blow to the territory as the Government is looking to rebuild its tourism sector which has been affected by the COVID-19 lockdowns.
According to reports, the shipment of supplies is expected to arrive on the island on October 22, following a delay due to the borders being closed.
