Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport

Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport
IATA: EISICAO: TUPJ
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator BVIAA
Serves British Virgin Islands, United Kingdom
Location Beef Island
Elevation AMSL 16 ft / 5 m
Coordinates 18°26′44″N 064°32′35″W / 18.44556°N 64.54306°WCoordinates: 18°26′44″N 064°32′35″W / 18.44556°N 64.54306°W
Map
EIS

Location in the British Virgin Islands

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 1,415 4,642 Asphalt
Source: DAFIF[1]
Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport looking north from above, with Great Camanoe and neighbouring islands beyond

Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport (IATA: EIS, ICAO: TUPJ), previously known as Beef Island Airport, is the main airport serving the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. The airport serves as the gateway to just about all of the islands within the BVI. Many travellers fly into Beef Island, with the intention of taking a ferry to the other smaller British Virgin Islands. The airport is located on Beef Island, a small island off the main island of Tortola, to which it is connected by the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.

The Terrance B. Lettsome airport underwent a major $55 million renovation in 2004. After dredging was completed the runway was expanded to allow larger planes to operate into the airfield. This renovation was the largest capital project ever undertaken in the territory at that time. However, the airport currently does not receive any scheduled airline passenger jet service. The largest aircraft serving Tortola was the 64 passenger seat ATR-72 turboprop aircraft operated by Executive Airlines flying as American Eagle on behalf of American Airlines. However, American Eagle ended all service to the airport on 31 March 2013. Currently, the largest aircraft to serve Tortola is the 50 passenger seat de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 DHC-8-300 turboprop aircraft operated by Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT). Recently, Seaborne Airlines began operating Saab 340 turboprop aircraft into the airport.

Some of the highlights of the renovation and expansion project include:

There is a $20 departure tax for anyone over the age of five years old.

The airport houses the BVI Outstation of the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority.[2]

Airlines and destinations

Scheduled

Airlines Destinations
Air Sunshine Anguilla, San Juan, Saint Thomas, Nevis, Dominica, Sint Maarten
BVI Airways Dominica-Melville Hall, Sint Maarten
Cape Air San Juan
Seasonal: Saint Thomas
LIAT Antigua, Sint Maarten, Saint Kitts
Seaborne Airlines San Juan
Winair Sint Maarten

Historically, in 1986 the airport had scheduled passenger jet service operated by British Caribbean Airways,[3][4] with direct flights to Miami. British Caribbean operated a British Aerospace BAe 146-100 jetliner. This was the only time that Tortola had airline jet service.

Charter

Airlines Destinations
Air Sunshine San Juan, Saint Thomas, St. Croix, all other destinations via San Juan or St.Thomas
Anguilla Air Services Anguilla, Antigua, Sint Maarten
BVI Airways Anguilla, Nevis, Santo Domingo, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia-Hewanorra
FlyMontserrat Montserrat
St Barth Commuter Saint Barthélemy
Trans Anguilla Airways Anegada, Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Nevis, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts, Sint Maarten, Pointe-à-Pitre, Virgin Gorda
VI Air Link Anegada, Anguilla, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Canouan, Curaçao, Dominica-Melville Hall, Fort-de-France, Grand Turk, Grenada, Kingston, La Romana, Montego Bay, Nassau, Nevis, Pointe-à-Pitre, Port-au-Prince, Port of Spain, Providenciales, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia-Hewanorra, Saint Lucia-Vigie, Saint Vincent, Santo Domingo-Las Américas, Sint Maarten

Cargo Airlines

|Air Sunshine | Saint Thomas, San Juan, St.Croix, Anguilla, Nevis, Dominica, Sint Maarten

Accidents and incidents

References

External links