Last Saturday, April 17 at 12:38 local time, the first commercial flight landed at Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) in Bridgetown (Barbados), the main hub in the eastern Caribbean, after being closed for a week as a result of the volcanic ash emitted from La Soufrière volcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The aircraft was a JetBlue Airbus A320 from Boston, United States.
This flight was followed by other American Airlines flights from Charlotte and Miami and British Airways from London and Antigua. This Sunday InterCaribbean Airways also returned, operating from Point Salines.
Grantley Adams Airport was able to be reopened after intensive clean-up on both the operations area and the passenger facilities.
Barbados Minister of Tourism and International Transport Lisa Cummins stated in a press conference on Friday that while some level of dust was still being observed, the ash cloud that affected visibility was already gone.
In statements reproduced by Barbados Today, Cummins added that the return of the flights will also help humanitarian operations in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which main airport remains closed. Also, she hopes that starting May 8, tourism will take a new impulse due to the new protocols for those who arrive and are vaccinated against COVID-19, by reducing quarantine times.
“The bookings for the latter part of the year and early 2022 look extremely strong. Demand is strong but there is latent uncertainty regarding the May-June period, although it begins to improve in July, August and September,” concluded the official.
