Airport car park reopening faces delay due to technical glitch

The BVI Airports Authority (BVIAA) has experienced a setback in its planned rollout of a new automated parking system at the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport, pushing back the start date to mid-June.

The new system — initially scheduled to go live on June 1 following a temporary parking amnesty — has been delayed by technical problems, BVIAA Managing Director Kurt Menal confirmed in an interview with ZBVI Radio.

“We’re having some technical difficulties, so we’ve pushed the start date to the 15th of June,” Menal stated. “The guys just updated me this morning that they had those technical difficulties, so we’re forced to push it.”

To bridge the gap, the Authority plans to implement a temporary manual fee collection process. “We will be putting in some type of measures to manually collect, because I think from what they’ve told me, the [control] arms are working. It’s just the general system itself that is not altogether,” Menal explained.

The delay comes after the BVIAA granted an amnesty period allowing vehicle owners to remove cars from the airport’s parking lot without incurring fees or penalties until 31 May. The parking system had been out of service for months due to obsolescence, resulting in free parking for travellers.

The BVIAA is also preparing to commission a new standoff zone to improve airport traffic flow and enhance security. Both the upgraded parking system and the standoff zone are expected to launch together.