Maurice Bishop International Airport

Maurice Bishop International Airport
IATA: GND – ICAO: TGPY
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Grenada Airports Authority
Location St. George's, Grenada
Elevation AMSL 41 ft / 12 m
Coordinates
Website www.mbiagrenada.com
Map
TGPY
Location in Grenada
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 2,744 9,003 Asphalt
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

Maurice Bishop International Airport (IATA: GND, ICAO: TGPY), formerly known as Point Salines International Airport, is located in the parish of St. George's. The town of St. George's is about 5 mi (8.0 km) north of the airport and is the capital of the island nation of Grenada. The airport is located on Point Salines, the most southwestern point of the island.

Contents

History

The unfinished airport was chosen as the jump off point for the invasion of the island by the United States of America in October 1983. The event that precipitated the U.S.-led invasion of Grenada was not the construction of the airport, but, rather, a violent coup in which Prime Minister Bishop was killed. The American justification for the invasion was the perceived threat to American medical students at St. George's University, whose campus is a short distance from the airport.

More than 500 Rangers from 1st and 2nd Battalions of the United States Army 75th Ranger Regiment conducted a risky daylight low altitude parachute assault onto the airport. Despite resistance from Grenadian armed forces (PRA - People's Revolutionary Army) and Cuban armed construction workers, the Rangers secured all of their objectives on the airfield quickly. The seizure of the airfield allowed United States Air Force C-141 transport planes to land and unload paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division.

The building of the airport — designed to replace the obsolete Pearls Airport on the north side of the island — was cited by U.S. President Ronald Reagan as evidence that the Grenadian government intended to allow it to be used as a way point for Soviet military aircraft en route to Cuba. He buttressed this claim with the evidence that it was being built, in part, by Cuban workers. The contention that the airport had any military function was vehemently denied by Grenada's Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.

Bishop and his government contended that the Point Salines airport was intended to make the island more accessible to European and North American tourists. The long range jets that carried such tourists could not land on the short and geographically difficult runway at the existing airport, Pearls. As a result, tourists bound for Grenada had to put up with the delays, expenses and perceived risks of changing to smaller planes flown by regional carriers. The Grenadian government said they hoped their tourist trade would dramatically increase if direct flights from Europe and North America were possible. The airport itself was designed by a Canadian firm and the construction contracts were awarded to mostly European contractors.

The airport was renamed for the late Prime Minister in 2009.

Facilities

The airport resides at an elevation of 41 ft (12 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 10/28 with an asphalt surface measuring 2,744 × 45 m (9,003 × 148 ft).[1]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines serve Grenada:[3]

Airlines Destinations
Air Canada Seasonal: Toronto-Pearson
Air Transat Seasonal: Toronto-Pearson
American Airlines Miami
American Eagle San Juan
British Airways Barbados, London-Gatwick
Caribbean Airlines New York-JFK, Port of Spain, Toronto-Pearson
Conviasa Porlamar, Port of Spain
Delta Air Lines New York-JFK
LIAT Barbados, Port of Spain, St Vincent
Monarch London-Gatwick
REDjet Barbados, Port of Spain [services on hold pending government approval]
Sunwing Airlines Seasonal: Toronto-Pearson
SVG Air Canouan, Carriacou, Union Island
Virgin Atlantic Airways London-Gatwick

Cargo carriers

Airlines Destinations
Amerijet Trinidad, Miami, Santiago (DR), Santo Domingo
DHL Dominica-Canefield, Fort-de-France,Pointe-à-Pitre, Saint Lucia-Vigie, Saint Vincent, Trinidad
FedEx St.Vincent, Aguadilla
LIAT Quikpak St.Vincent, Barbados, Tobago, Trinidad, Canouan

References

  1. ^ a b Airport information for TGPY at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
  2. ^ Airport information for GND at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective Oct. 2006).
  3. ^ "Airline Carriers to Grenada". Government of Grenada. http://www.grenadagrenadines.com/search.php/portal/page/portal/BIG_Portal_Home_Page/GND_Non_Residents_Channel_Page/Traveler%20Information/Traveling%20to%20Grenada/Maurice%20Bishop%20International%20Airport/Airline%20Carriers%20to%20Grenada. Retrieved 2008-07-26. 

External links