The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

RESIDENTS of Staniel Cay, Exuma, yesterday said they are “jubilant” and “very excited” that the airport is now officially open after seven months of closure for runway repairs. 

Stephen Miller, local government representative, said “words cannot begin to express” how ecstatic residents are to have some “normalcy” returned to their lives due to the airport’s re-opening.

Mr Miller said residents are pleased that the work was completed within the promised timeframe and that they are grateful to “every official, worker and supporter who caused this to occur”. 

The Staniel Cay airport had been closed since April 9 when the Department of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Works determined that it was necessary to shut it after safety concerns came to light during a routine runway inspection. 

Residents subsequently expressed - on many occasions - their frustration with the situation, claiming that the closure had severely affected the local economy and access to emergency health care. 

On Wednesday, however, the Ministry of Transport and Aviation announced that the airport had been re-opened to air traffic “effective immediately.” In a statement, the ministry said that a Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) has been issued by the Department of Civil Aviation, advising that the new runway is classified as a Code 2b airport, with a newly paved runway 3,000ft long and 75ft wide. 

The airport will be open from sunrise to 3pm daily until final construction on the Runway End Safety Area has been satisfactorily completed. It is anticipated that this process will be completed in two weeks, allowing for regular operational hours from sunrise to sunset to be introduced, the statement said.  

The Tribune understands that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works Philip “Brave” Davis, as well as other officials from the Ministry of Works toured the airstrip on Wednesday before declaring the facility officially open.

“The whole community is jubilant and very excited to finally have aircraft being allowed to land in Staniel,” Mr Miller told The Tribune yesterday. “There’s still a little more work to be done on the airport, thus Civil Aviation have it opened between the hours of (sunrise) to 3pm each day so that the contractors can complete their work. 

“But I can tell you, even this morning, seeing the number of people coming out just to see the aircraft that land, I can tell you it’s an air of excitement, jubilation. I can’t begin to express how happy the community itself is. And having (Mr Davis) on Staniel Cay yesterday along with Civil Aviation, and Ministry of Works inspectors to check the work and approve it, it was very nice to have them here. We would have expressed our appreciation to them yesterday. Many of the residents were out at the airport when it was announced that the airport would be opened back up. 

“So I can tell you we’re very happy and we’re very pleased, and the community at Staniel Cay would like to thank the government for hearing our plea and seeing to it that our airport work is done and completed and now we can get back to a state of normalcy.”

Mr Miller also said that despite having to wait two weeks for its regular operational hours to be re-introduced, the opening of the airport after seven months of closure is more than enough to return some sort of “normalcy” to the residents’ lives. 

“Believe you me, for the time we’ve been waiting for this announcement to come, I think normalcy would have come into effect from the minute they announced that the airport is open, this community was back to normal,” he said.

“During this time of the year, with the winds and stuff, it’s really hard getting between Staniel Cay and Black Point just to catch flights. And so just to not have to do that anymore, believe you me, this island is back to a state of normalcy. 

“There are smiling faces all around the island. Every time I see persons they comment on how happy they are to have the airport finally open.”