Runway Problems, Beachcomber Demolition Raise Questions at VIPA Meeting

Former Sen. Celestino White started the V.I. Port Authority’s Board of Governors meeting Monday, wanting to know about infractions the Federal Aviation Administration found at the Cyril E. King Airport and about the safety of the runways.

White, a board member, asked about a civil penalty letter dated Aug. 15, 2023, assessing the authority for a penalty of $477,000 for infractions at the airport. The amount was negotiated down to $382,000 in October of last year. A poll vote was taken last month and ratified Monday, authorizing Executive Director Carlton Dowe to pay the lower amount. VIPA Director of Engineering Preston Beyer said the infractions were found during airport inspections in 2019. However, a letter from Dowe to board members last month stated that the infractions were discovered during the inspections in March, December 2021, and May 2022.

White added that the frequent closing of the airport’s main runway raised concerns about how safe the runway was. Beyer said the authority inspected the runway daily and erred on the safety side when ordering any shutdown. Beyer said the authority was working on a long-term solution to alleviate the “soft spots” sometimes appearing on the runway but added when a soft spot was found, the St. Thomas airport, unlike major airports in the states, did not have a backup runway for the major airlines to use. Dowe said the airport now had 30 landings a day and, in high season, might have as many as 90 landings in a day. Beyer said the long-range plans for runway improvement were now on hold because federal funds were unavailable.