Published on April 10, 2021

Secretary of State for Tourism and International Transport, Senator Lisa Cummins. (GP)

Key points and live updates from Tourism Secretary Lisa Cummins’ April 10, 2021 address to the nation.

  • Grantley Adams International Airport is closed.
  • Every precaution has been taken to secure the equipment.
  • Yesterday at 5:30 p.m. our airspace was declared closed by civil aviation.
  • We have no promises or guarantees about what will happen tomorrow.
  • Let’s hope the skies light up on May 8th.
  • By the summer we expect a modest return of the tourism product.
  • I am not aware of any accommodation requests from St. Vincent.
  • There is no tourism industry in the world that is not exposed to uncertainty.
  • The UK and Canada are also waiting to see what will happen.
  • A meeting is planned for next week to look at regional travel.
  • Not many flights come to Barbados with many people.
  • From January to March 6,000 people came to the island.
  • Not many people travel in their free time.
  • We expect our welcome stamp profile to change.
  • This is an evolving circumstance.
  • As more and more people are being vaccinated, we expect more people to come to the island as part of the Welcome Stamp program.

Director of Meteorology Sabu Best

  • Once the ashes are in the air in St. Vincent, it takes about an hour and a half to get to Barbados.
  • The volcano is still active.
  • It will last all day and well into the night.
  • Dust haze shouldn’t be a problem.
  • Our main concern is volcanic ash.
  • Fishermen should stay in port.
  • The view is not good.
  • The ashes are not distributed uniformed on the island.
  • There is more ash in the north.
  • The night will come much earlier.
  • Outside will smell strange.
  • There is sulfur dioxide in the air.

Civil Aviation Director Tracey Forde-Bailey

  • A NOTAM is a notice submitted by the Civil Aviation Authority that informs pilots of flight hazards along the route.
  • NOTAMS were also issued by the Department of Civil Aviation when needed.
  • This information is issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of Trinidad and Tobago.
  • The airport can open tomorrow if conditions change.
  • At this point it is uncertain due to volcanic activity.
  • In the case of international flights, coordination with the Area Control Center in Trinidad and Tobago will be continued.
  • The Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority will continue to provide guidance on all international flights.

CEO of Grantley Adams International Airport Inc. Hadley Bourne

  • Ash is significantly harmful to air travel.
  • We made a conscious decision to protect our navigation equipment.
  • We will update every six hours based on volcanic activity.
  • When the airport will reopen depends on volcanic activity.
  • We keep in close contact with our engineering team.
  • All of our devices are fully functional.

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