Partial closure of Barbados airspace was due to staff shortage, minister says

The partial closure of Barbados’ airspace on Saturday affected inbound and outbound flights for approximately seven and a half hours, disrupting services at Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA).

In a statement, Minister of Tourism and International Transport Ian Gooding-Edghill said the disruption was caused by a shortage of staff within the Air Navigation Services department.

The minister stated that while afternoon flights from the United Kingdom – two each from British Airways and Virgin Atlantic – and the air-to-sea flights were all accommodated, a few others were affected.

American Airlines flights were cancelled, JetBlue New York flight returned to JFK, one Air Canada flight returned to Canada, and a JetBlue flight from Boston, which was diverted to San Juan, is now due to arrive in Barbados later Saturday afternoon.

Despite the disruption, one medivac flight was able to depart safely.

Normal operations at the GAIA resumed around 2:30 p.m. following an urgent meeting involving representatives from the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, the Ministry of the Public Service, the Barbados Workers’ Union, and the National Union of Public Workers.

The statement described the meeting as productive, noting that it addressed several outstanding issues affecting staff. A follow-up meeting is scheduled for March 11 to work toward an urgent resolution of the matters in question.

The statement said GAIA management is working with affected airlines to reschedule flights. (PR/BT)