New airport opens on St. Vincent

The $259 million Argyle International Airport on the eastern
side of St. Vincent opened Feb. 13, about six years behind schedule.

The airport began operations with scheduled inter-Caribbean
flights on LIAT and Grenadine Air Alliance (a partnership between SVG Airlines
and Mustique Airlines). Two charter flights from New York also arrived.

Ground was broken on the airport in August 2008. Every year
since 2011, completion dates had been announced and missed due to construction
delays.

Construction of Argyle was a major undertaking, according to
Glen Beache, CEO of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority.

“The project involved moving three mountains, spanning
a river and filling two valleys to level the site,” Beache said.

Although no major carriers have announced scheduled service
to the airport, the opening means that St. Vincent can receive large
international aircraft thanks to a runway 9,000 feet long and 250 feet wide.

The 171,000-square-foot terminal building is designed to
handle up to 1.5 million passengers a year. Stayover arrivals in St. Vincent
and the Grenadines totaled about 65,000 in 2016.

The airport is the second solar-powered airport in the
Caribbean, following V.C. Bird Airport in Antigua. Facilities include two jet
bridges, restaurants, bars and retail shops.

Beache described the airport as a “game-changer for the
region, not only for opening up St. Vincent to international travelers but also
for enabling the diaspora outside the Caribbean to travel home more easily.”

E. T. Joshua Airport will be demolished and plans call for
city called New Kingston to be built on the site.