Virgin Islands Port Authority Executive Director David Mapp on Tuesday afternoon moved to quell public concern about airport closures in the territory.
The Port Authority will not close the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas or the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix, Mr. Mapp stressed. He said V.I.P.A. employees have received several phone calls and messages from the public, expressing concern that the airports would be closed to the traveling public in the upcoming weeks. Mr. Mapp believes that the rumors stem from misinformation provided to travelers and from misleading posts on the Internet, according to a release the Port Authority issued this afternoon.
The Cyrile E. King Airport reopened to commercial flights on September 28 on a limited basis. The terminal currently has five of its 11 gates available for use. The Port Authority has targeted December 1 for the reopening of the remaining gates and other areas of the terminal, which are currently under repair due to extensive damages sustained during Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The Henry E. Rohlsen Airport terminal, which reopened to commercial traffic on October 5, is fully operational but is also being renovated because of hurricane damages. The Port Authority, however, will not close its airports to commercial flights while they are being repaired, Mr. Mapp said.
He added that all airlines have resumed service to the territory. The public is encouraged to call their respective airline for specifics about their daily schedules. For accurate information about the territory’s airports, Mr. Mapp asks the public to contact the Port Authority’s public information officer, Monifa Brathwaite, at (340) 774-1629 or [email protected].
Tags: airports, us virgin islands
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