Following a public outcry by VI Airlink over the decision by the BVI Airports Authority (BVIAA) to begin constructing and renting out hangers at the Terrence B. Lettsome International Airport, the BVIAA has since said it is willing to meet with the local airline to find a solution that would be in the best interest of both parties. Photo: VINO/VI Ailink

It was since November 2018 that VI Airlink’s Neville C. Brathwaite Jr had said, ‘the airline continues to bleed excess resources to maintain its airplanes’ overseas due to a lack of maintenance facility at the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport. Photo: Team of Reporters/File

The BVI Airports Authority (BVIAA) has said it empathises with the management and staff of Virgin Islands Airlink, with respect to the challenges they have faced following the devastation caused by the hurricanes of 2017. Photo: BVIAA

Brothers Norville Braithwaite (Left) & Neville C. Brathwaite Jr (right) who are both Pilots. Photo: Team of Reporters

In a press release of November 27, 2019, BVIAA said it empathises with the management and staff of Virgin Islands Airlink, with respect to the challenges they have faced following the devastation caused by the hurricanes of 2017.

In fact, it was since November 2018 that VI Airlink’s Neville C. Brathwaite Jr had said, “the airline continues to bleed excess resources to maintain its airplanes, to one of the highest safety standards in the world under the overseas territory requirements.”

According to Mr Brathwaite, as a local company operating in its home country, VI Airlink “feels that BVIAA is making very difficult to continue to operate, as the cost to maintain our aircrafts has drastically increased due to the lack of a maintenance facility.”

He had noted that in an effort to reduce fuel cost and provide better pricing to customers, VI Airlink requested to bring in fuel for private use, but that also was declined.

Rebuilding programme

It said that during the passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the Authority’s hangar stock at the Terrence B Lettsome International Airport was completely destroyed and that since rebuilding from scratch became the only option, the then  Board of Directors and Management opted to make the best of the unfortunate situation and to design a rebuilding programme that takes into account the intentions for expansion and upgrade of the facilities at Beef Island and which falls  into the scope of the master plan for the new airport infrastructural development.

The BVIAA further said the new and present Board of Directors and the Management team inherited certain arrangements already in place, but made a decision to go a step further and to execute a plan that would facilitate resilience, expansion of revenue generation capacity over the long-term, and cater for demands over the next 50 years.

New hangers

“With respect to the allocation of hangars, the situation arose where there is an increase in demand for hangar facilities that is beyond the pre-hurricanes level. This demand is expected to grow even further when current efforts to attract additional airlift providers begin bearing fruit. In this regard, and considering the medium- to long-term strategy and projected land use, it is necessary to relocate the hangars to a different parcel of BVIAA real estate.”

The authority said the legal formalities for the relocation of hangars have been recently completed and preliminary engineering work has begun to facilitate the construction of new hangar facilities in the near future.

Rental of hangers

“The BVIAA has been mandated to be prudent in the management of its operations so that it reduces the burden on the Treasury. Meeting this directive means having to develop and optimise aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenue streams.”

Rental of hangars, the BVIAA said, is one source of aeronautical revenue that most airports around the world rely on for income, and the BVIAA is intent on responsibly managing this asset when construction is completed.

VI Airlink ‘valuable’

The Authority said; however, it values VI Airlink as a valuable member of the Territory’s aeronautical ecosystem and would be working to address the airline’s concerns.

“As a BVI-branded, BVI-owned and BVI-registered airlift provider, VI Airlink’s decades of service to the Territory and its role in creating a proud Virgin Islands legacy, cannot and will not be treated lightly. It is therefore the intent of the Authority to convene a meeting shortly with the management of VI Airlink to explore options for lessening the challenges facing the local airline.

“The Authority is confident that by working together, both parties can find a solution that works for all stakeholders. We remain, BVI STRONG!” the press release stated.