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Grantley Adams International Airport - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grantley Adams International Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grantley Adams International Airport

IATA: BGI – ICAO: TBPB
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator GAIA Inc.[1]
Location Bridgetown
Elevation AMSL 52 m / 169 ft
Coordinates 13°04′28″N 59°29′32″W / 13.07444, -59.49222
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 3,353 11,000 Asphalt

The Sir Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA), (IATA: BGI, ICAO: TBPB) is found in Seawell, Christ Church on the island of Barbados. The former name of the airport was Seawell Airport before being dedicated in honor of the first Premier of Barbados, Sir Grantley Herbert Adams in 1976.

The Grantley Adams Airport has direct service to destinations in the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, Africa, and Europe and operates as a major gateway to the Eastern Caribbean. The airport is a second hub for Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT).

Contents

[edit] Overview and geography

The Sir Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) lies 12.9 km (8 mi.) from the centre of the capital city Bridgetown, in an area officially known as Seawell. This is contrary to most informational services stating the airport as being located inside the capital city.

The terrain around the airport is relatively flat and quite Suburban. The airport lies in the south-eastern portion of parish of Christ Church, close to the southern tip of the entire island. The airport is provided with easy access to the ABC highway/highway 7 heading towards the capital and locations to the north and west coast of the island.

The Grantley Adams Airport also serves as the main air-transportation hub for the Eastern Caribbean. The airport had recently undergone a two-phase US$100 million upgrade and expansion by the government, which added a brand new arrivals hall adjacent to the current arrivals/departures terminals. Construction, has been made slightly more complicated due to the fact that the airport has to remain open for up to 16 hours per day. The Airport's current infrastructure is supposed to meet the needs of Barbados until at least 2015. The phase III construction project, which is yet to be completed will see changes made to the airplane parking configuration at the airport.[2]

[edit] History

Air transportation at the site of present day airport, then known as Seawell Airport, goes back as far as the late 1930s. In 1939 a plane from the Royal Netherlands Airlines landed on the airport site. At the time there was merely a grassy strip as the runway. The strip was paved some time later and in 1949 the first Terminal building was built on the site, to replace a shed that was being used until then. This ushered in the Airport being formally known as the Seawell Airport.

During the 1960s the eastern flight-range just east of the airport became known as Paragon. This area of the airport became the initial base of a High Altitude Research Project known as Project HARP, Project HARP was jointly sponsored by McGill University in Canada and the United States military.

In 1983, the U.S.-sponsored invasion of Grenada prompted the United States to form yet another agreement with Barbados. As part of the deal, the U.S. expanded a part of the current airport infrastructure. This prepared the Grantley Adams Airport to be used as a base. The U.S. military oversaw the upgrading of the Airport runway in order for it to handle larger U.S. military aircraft on their way to neighbouring Grenada. As part of the plan to maintain lasting stability in Grenada, the United States also assisted in the establishment of the Regional Security System (RSS) at the eastern Grantley Adams airport flight-rage. The R.S.S. was (and still is) a security unit focused on providing security for the Eastern Caribbean.

The Sir Grantley Adams International Airport, as it is known today, handles most large aircraft including Boeing 747s. The airport was also one of the few destinations in the world where the [[British Airways' Concorde]] aircraft made regularly-scheduled flights, and also for repairs, before the Concordes were retired. The Concorde typically flew to Barbados during the busy UK-Barbados winter season. The flight time of the Concorde from the United Kingdom to Barbados was less than 4 hours.

[edit] 2000-2006 Expansion project

Since the Grantley Adams International Airport had become a relatively busy airport for such a small island, and based on the fact that future air traffic to the facilities is expected to increase, the Government of Barbados commenced a US$100 million programme to revamp the Airport's current infrastructure. Phase I: Which is completed oversaw an upgrading of the Runways, taxiways, parking aprons, and approach lighting. This phase also included the Government of Barbados acquiring private land adjacent to the landing strip in order to bring the airport into compliance with new international aviation regulations. Phase II included adding a brand new arrivals terminal adjacent to the current building moving arrivals from the current terminal, renovating the current terminal as a departures facility and bringing the airport infrastructure current for the new millennium.

[edit] 2006-beyond expansion

Phase III which had to wait until the completion of the 2007 Cricket World Cup will see the addition of new airport terminal Jetway (gates), new spacious departure lounges much closer to the airplanes and air bridges to make connections at the facility much easier. Also nearing completion is the expanded duty free shopping area and restaurants for travellers

[edit] Architects

Queen’s Quay Architects International Inc. (Q2) - www.q2a.net - of Ontario, Canada -- are the architects of the redesigned GAIA airport, and are monitoring the renovation & expansion of the facilities.

[edit] Contractor

Sypher:Mueller International Inc. - www.sypher.aero -- of Ontario, Canada -- are responsible for the contractor, coordination and planning of the new terminal.

[edit] New Arrivals building

After the expansion project, the airport's Arrivals facility was moved to a separate brand-new building adjacent to the previous structure. This allowed the Departures area to occupy much of the previous shared structure.

Airport Contact Information:

Grantley Adams International Airport Christ Church, Barbados Tel: +1-246-428-7101

[edit] Terminals, airlines and destinations

The Sir Grantley Adams International Airport has two terminal buildings designed to appear to be one single continuous structure. The first structure and oldest is the current departures terminial. Prior to the 2000-2006 expansion project, this single terminal building housed both the arrivals and departures facilities. Both sections were divided in two with a few duty free shops and an open-air area in the middle of the airport with trees and other greenery which was open to both halfs of the terminal. The new translucent membrane that towers over the airport shows the place where the old terminal was split in two. Additionally the same membrane tent design over the building also covers the gap between the old and new terminal and gives the appearance of both buildings being a single long building.

[edit] Runway and taxi-ways

The Airport has a single east-west runway, connected by five taxiway intersections with the aircraft parking area which is adjacent to the terminals. As a result of the earths' tradewinds that blow from the Atlantic Ocean across Barbados from the east, all planes usually land and take-off in an easterly direction. This results involves a typical flight path for arriving aircraft along the west coast of Barbados, while departing flights usually fly along the east coast of the island.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Former airlines/services using GAIA as a hub

Airline/Service Name IATA code ICAO code Callsign
Aero Services * BAS Aeroserv
Air Calypso * * *
Barbados International Airways * * *
Carib Express * BCB Wavebird
Carib West * * *
Caribair * * *
Caribbean Air Cargo DC DCC Caricargo
Caribbean Airways Ltd.
(Previously as: International Caribbean Airways)		 IQ IQQ Caribjet
Caribbean Airways, International * * *
Cargo Link (Caribbean), Inc. * CLM Cargo Link
Helenair (Barbados) * HCB Helen
Trans Island Air 2000
(Previously as: Trans Island Air)		 * TRD Trans Island
Tropic Air * * *
Tropical Air Services OQ * *

[edit] Air alliances going to GAIA

[edit] BGI Cargo/Service providers

Besides the Arrivals and Departures terminals, the Sir Grantley Adams International Airport also included provisions for a new cargo building in the 2000-2006 expansion project. The cargo needs of the airport include timely postal services in addition to various airline support. The cargo facility is located on the western end of the airport next to the new Arrivals building.

Cargo/service provider name IATA code ICAO code Purpose
Amerijet International M6 AJT Cargo
DHL Air D0 DHK Cargo
FedEx Express FX FDX Cargo
Seawell Air Services (SAS), Ltd. __ ___ Cargo
United Parcel Service 5X UPS Cargo

[edit] Concorde Museum

To east of the main Sir Grantley Adams Airport is the site of the 8534 m² British Airways Concorde Museum on the old Spencers Plantation. The museum is part of the new proposed expanded airport grounds. British Airways had granted the Government of Barbados one of their retired Concorde aircraft and BAC/SNIAS Concorde 212 G-BOAE is now on permanent display in a dedicated hall. The Q2 company had entered a museum and exhibition facility design to the Government of Barbados for this new permanent housing of the aircraft. The 'Concorde Experience' as a whole has a number of zones providing information on the aircraft.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Brancker: Airport board will enhance tourism. Nation Newspaper. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  2. ^ Tax 'not too much'. Nation Newspaper. Retrieved on 2007-06-22.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links


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