Dominica continues to receive assistance for the restoration of the Douglas-Charles Airport following the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Erika last year.
On Wednesday, January 6th, fencing material arrived at the Woodbridge Bay Port aboard a Trinidad and Tobago coast guard vessel.
Benoit Bardouille is Chief Executive Officer of the Dominica Air and Sea Ports Authority.
“As you know, after Tropical Storm Erika, our fencing was severely damaged due to flooding. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has provided fencing material for the airport. Earlier, they brought in 1,800 bags of cement and that will go a long way in assisting Dominica in the rebuilding process.”
Bardouille explained to GIS News the progress made at the airport following the flood damage caused by Tropical Storm Erika.
“We have been able to resume air traffic very early in September and we have moved on to turn on the lights for night activities. The next phase is to do the fencing and then more infrastructure works like the apron, taxiway, the runway threshold, drainage and the roadways. There is quite a bit of work to be done and we will seek to do that over a period of five and six months. We are hoping in the interims to do some more work to accommodate larger aircraft,” he said.
to Malatete. even though Melville hall is capable of handling a 737 the FAA will never allow it to bring in passengers into Dominica. the runway does not meet regulation standards for passenger traffic that is why you will only see a 737 bringing cargo into Dominica. the fact that all this money is continually being poured into Melville hall without a single mention of an alternate should tell you something, not only is the runway not up to FAA standards but what about the amount of passengers that would need to be processed. do you honestly believe that our terminal have the ability to handle over 150 passengers from a single flight. come on my friend let’s be realistic. it will not happen.
What larger airport is this mouth piece talking about? Did Erika change the approach and remove the mountains to the East?
Mr. Bardouille please specify. What do you mean by ” larger aircraft ?” Sir I am old school and I wasn’t taught to read between the lines. Please expound on that. Meme si ou ka couyonez mwen konh la cutime.{ Even if you are fooling me as usual.} Larger aircraft? I am too old a cat to be F&$#ed by a kitten like you sir.
we fort that moneys were approve to comments works on the airport work was so posed to have stated in November we in January the only thing we saw is a drain they cleaned and that,s all not even some work on the taxi way they a waiting to beg a country to do it for them my goodness so we come lord help us in Dominica.
A replacement x-ray/scanner machine for looking into suitcases is also needed asap.
I wonder if you.can not get a flight to DA then why can a weekly jet flight from DA not possible? Congratulations on the rapid airport work
Thank you to the Government and people of T&T for the continued assistance.
Waw waw that’s good larger aircraft keep doing the good works guys ??????????
I would like to know what other larger size aircraft he’s referring to,if any other size of aircraft it should be larger than liat, seaborne.
Dahman, Meville Hall is quite capable of handling an aircraft like a Boeing 737 (typically 150 seats or more), making direct jet flights from N. America a possibility The trouble is finding enough passengers on a regular basis to fill that capacity
They can get the passengers a d also become a stop over for other regional flights the problem is the infrastructure and cycle of local events, and resources to support such large aircraft. The people doing this work are not 100% dedicated to it. The current airport staff is under trained even to repair or troubleshoot the equipment. the have the ability but not the confidence that lack of confidence comes from lack of training and knowledge.
Most times you cannot get a flight to Dominica 3 months out of the year when there are events such as carnival and through out October to December. ironically that when most people are traveling.
It depends how regular. Some D/cans who reside overseas, especially in Canada, US and Europe (no doubt), are turned off because LIAT decreased flights and they would have to overnight in either A/gua or B/dos. Hotel cost is an additional expense.
I was informed the cost to A/gua (or B/dos), return to Canada is approximately $2,000 and passengers will have to overnight in those countries, even though they arrive by 12:30 .pm. The reason for the airline cost probably could be, not booking in advance. I am not sure,
I am informing you, this is discouraging.
At busy times as these, Christmas, New Years, Carnival, Dominica Independence, Creole Festival, we would think that LIAT would be considerate and provide ample service that passengers would not have to overnight.
Having stated that, it makes my blood boil. Let me emphatically state, LIAT is not providing good service to Dominica especially at these important times.
Does LIAT care?
If any individual has recently received a bag of Trini cement you have to question yourself if it has been “liberated” from that aid shipment from the Govt. of Trinidad.
Awesome!