The most anticipated airport project in the Caribbean is finally complete.
Argyle International Airport (AIA) on the island of St. Vincent received its first-ever flights on February 14th after an eight-year construction process.
Four chartered aircrafts, including one Caribbean Airlines flight out of New York City and a Sunwing Airlines flight out of Toronto, made direct inaugural journeys to St. Vincent and The Grenadines .
These flights were historic —marking the first time that wide body aircrafts as large as Boeing 747-400’s —could land on the island, thanks to a 9,000-foot runway.
The building of Argyle International Airport is largest capital project in the island’s history. The $240 million development was financed by St. Vincent’s government with loans, donations and grants from several countries including Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and Taiwan.
The opening of AIA marked the close of St. Vincent’s ET Joshua Airport. This airport had served the island for several decades but was only able to receive smaller, regional flights from the Caribbean.
Now that Argyle International Airport is operational, the expectation is that not only will the tourism industry be boosted, but agriculture and other trade industries as well. Melissa Noel made to journey to the new airport aboard an inaugural flight to learn more.
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Melissa Noel is an award-winning Guyanese American journalist based between New York City and a Caribbean island near you. Follow her on Twitter @noelknowswell.
Video by Kirk Wardy of The LaRue Group. Follow him on Instagram @thelaruegroup.