Tenants and travelers at the Cyril E. King Airport (CEKA) on St. Thomas will soon be able to enjoy a cooler airport terminal, the V.I. Port Authority has announced. The new 400-ton air conditioning chillers purchased by the Port Authority have been installed on the roof of the terminal and are now being connected to the terminal’s air conditioning system, VIPA said. According to the release, the CEKA terminal has been warm over the last few days during the connection process, with the authority stating that it will take a few days to completely cool the terminal as the new chillers are added to the system.
The new chillers are a permanent fix to the long-standing air conditioning issues at the CEKA terminal, said VIPA. They will expand the terminal’s existing air conditioning system and help to keep the building comfortably cool.
The chillers at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport Terminal (HERA) have also been malfunctioning recently, said VIPA Executive Director Carlton Dowe. VIPA plans to purchase two new ones for the terminal in its Fiscal Year 2020 budget to permanently resolve this problem. In the interim, VIPA said new compressors for the air conditioners have been ordered and will be installed next week. During the installation of the compressors, there will be some loss in the system’s cooling capacity and the air in the HERA terminal may be warm. Cooler temperatures are expected by Saturday, August 17, Mr. Dowe said.
The two new chillers cost $1.8 million.
Mr. Dowe sincerely apologized for the temperatures at both airport terminals. He also thanked the airports’ tenants and the traveling public for their continued patience as VIPA works diligently to improve its airports. VIPA said it will continue to keep the public abreast of any new developments.
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