Airports reopen today

WORKS and Transport Minister Franklin Khan said Piarco and Crown Point International Airports were tentatively scheduled to reopen at 6 am today — following the passage of Hurricane Ivan. However the Minister hinted that operations could have resumed at Piarco last night, weather conditions permitting.

Khan told Newsday that Crown Point was closed down on Monday night and there were no flights into or out of the sister isle yesterday. He said Piarco was closed yesterday morning after a few flights were allowed to enter and leave. The minister added that flight crews were on standby to resume operations at both airports once the weather clears. BWIA communications officer Dionne Ligoure said a few of the airline’s flights, such as its service to Washington DC, left yesterday morning before Piarco was closed. She said there were cancellations of BWIA flights to London and New York because of the hurricane.

Noting that flights into and out of Barbados have been cancelled because of Hurricane Ivan, Ligoure said BWIA was diverting some of its en route planes to alternate airports in Antigua, Guyana and Suriname. Khan also said TT’s maritime ports have been closed, with sailings of the MV Beauport to Tobago being cancelled until further notice. At the port of Port-of-Spain, several vessels were moved to safe anchorages because of the hurricane. Included in that number was the floating bookstore- the Logos II.