106 staff members honoured

Recently 106 staff members of the Grantley Adams International Airport were honoured and recognised for giving excellent service to the company and the travel industry of Barbados.

Speaking during the staff awards that took place in the conference room, Chairman of the GAIA Inc. Vic Fernandes believed that long service showed a high level of commitment as well as the perseverance to stay the course, and so he thanked the staff members for their long service to the company.

He went on to note that they had a goal to make the GAIA Inc. the best airport in, not just the Caribbean, but the world.

“We all say we love change, but the truth is, that we are creatures of habit and we enjoy being where we are and where we are comfortable, and so trying to change is not going to be easy and the culture of change is not going to be as easy as it may appear to be. If we came in and all we did was exactly what we always did then nothing would change,” he said.

“We have a mandate to create change. I am not for one moment saying that GAIA is not a proud airport, or we are not the envy of many places in the Caribbean, but what I am saying is that we can reach higher, and there are higher goals that we can achieve in striving for excellence.”

It is against this backdrop that Fernandes noted that they were going to be times where they “did things differently at the GAIA Inc.”

He believed that this was the shift that needed to be created so that they are able to give visitors and nationals that “wow!” factor when they walked through the airport.

The Chairman stated that as a Board, they were setting up to see how they could go about doing things differently, to provide higher efficiency when dealing with tourists and becoming the best.

Other Caribbean countries have achieved excellence, and that is why Fernandes is of the belief that they should be able to achieve excellence too, with the help of his employees.

He revealed that they were going to be going through a period of transition, which persons will learn about at an opportune time, as they look to expand the airport and improve the experience of the visitors and all who work there. (CLF)