Sealy gives updates on airport upgrades

As government continues its efforts to transform the Grantley Adams International Airport into a serious hub, Minister of Tourism and International Transport Richard Sealy gave an update to the Lower House on the upgrades.

He pointed out that passport readers and two sided-scanners would be implemented in the Immigration and Customs departments respectively to increase efficiency.
 
“Two million people move through that airport every year and obviously we need to make sure that we can effectively and efficiently move people in and out of the airport,” he said.
 
Along with an improved terminal facility, allowing arriving and departing passengers access to one large duty free area, he said that the expansion and rehabilitation of the facility would also include jet bridges.
 
“We also expect to have boarding bridges for the first time in Barbados. It is a fact, we should have had them earlier...In this day and age, we should not have to ascend or descend a treacherous stairway to get on or off an aircraft. Even for abled bodied people that experience can be a little nerve-wrecking at times and if you have vertigo or you are scared of heights it can be even that more mind-wrecking. But beyond that, we are not in the stage where physically challenged people are doing their own thing and will require much less assistance if they have those boarding bridges. It is accepted and airports far less busier than Grantley Adams have them installed or looking to install them,” he explained.
 
As a result, he said work would have to be carried out on the parking aprons and taxiways. 
 
Meanwhile, in leading off the debate on the Civil Aviation Authority Bill, 2016, the minister outlined that the repaving of the runway would be done in a separate project before the end of 2017.
 
“The drawings on the project have been submitted and we have to review them and get Cabinet to sign off, so we can get this completed in the shortest possible time frame,” he said.
 
In addition, Sealy said photovoltaic systems would be erected, revealing that surveys showed that these could almost fully run the facility by itself. (JMB)

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