Airport remains closed
to flights for third night
AIRPORT--Passengers booked to travel out of or into St. Maarten after dusk had their plans put on hold as Princess Juliana International Airport, the second busiest airport in the North-Eastern Caribbean, remained closed to flights for another night. All airlines were notified about the closure around 4:00pm.
Troubles at the airport started on Saturday night when the runaway end lights went out due to some burnt cables. Without the lights, the pilots cannot gauge the end of the runway, which makes take-offs and landings difficult and dangerous.
The airport technical crew has been busy repairing the lights since the problem was first discovered. However, to avoid hampering day flights and for the crew’s safety, the work was carried out under restricted conditions.
The second night of no operation was to allow the crew to complete the work and carry out necessary safety checks. A check was carried out around 7:00pm when the runway end lights were switched on for about fifteen minutes; then they were switched off again.
“We regret the occurrence of this issue and apologise for any inconvenience that this issue may have caused the travelling public and other airport users. This situation has our full attention and our technical workers are working tirelessly to restore night operation soonest,” airport President Eugene Holiday said in a press statement. “All airlines have been informed of the situation and aircraft operation has been adjusted as much as possible to minimise any adverse effects.”
Most of the passengers who were affected by the Sunday night closure were accommodated aboard morning flights or the flight following their scheduled service. Airlines that were diverted to other regional airports were also able to complete their journey.
Meanwhile, passengers aboard Air Transat flight from Toronto to St. Maarten on Saturday evening were diverted to Antigua. The plane was refuelled and sent on to Venezuela’s Margarita island for the night because no hotel rooms were available in Antigua.
Early Sunday afternoon, the aircraft was ready to depart for St. Maarten but, due to some unexpected delays in Venezuela, it was unable to reach its destination until after dark, according to Air Transat Station Manager K.C. Aatelma.
Due to the airport closure, the plane with all its passengers was forced to return to Toronto and the journey to St. Maarten was only completed Monday afternoon, some 41 hours late.
For the passengers who had to join this flight on Saturday night, Aatelma said, “Without the help of everyone [on the island], we would not have been able to accommodate all our passengers in hotels. It was wonderful to see the island come together and continue to offer our passengers the very best during this highly stressful time for them.”
