Piarco International Airport
| Piarco International Airport | |||
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| Panoramic View of Piarco International Airport | |||
| IATA: POS – ICAO: TTPP – WMO: 78970[1][2] |
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago | ||
| Serves | Port of Spain | ||
| Location | Arima | ||
| Hub for | Caribbean Airlines LIAT Amerijet International |
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| Elevation AMSL | 58 ft / 18 m | ||
| Coordinates | 10°35′43″N 061°20′14″W / 10.59528°N 61.33722°WCoordinates: 10°35′43″N 061°20′14″W / 10.59528°N 61.33722°W | ||
| Website | |||
| Map | |||
 TTPP
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| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 10/28 | 10,500 | 3,200 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2010[3]) | |||
| International Passengers | 1,621,584 | ||
| Domestic Passengers | 629,560 | ||
| In-transit Passengers | 253,325 | ||
| Total Passengers | 2,504,469 | ||
| Source: Aerodrome charts[4] | |||
Piarco International Airport (IATA: POS, ICAO: TTPP) is the main airport serving Trinidad and Tobago located in Piarco, a town in northern Trinidad, about 25 km (16 mi) east of the capital city, Port of Spain. It is one of two international airports serving the twin isle republic. The other is located on the island of Tobago, A.N.R Robinson International Airport. The airport has one runway and two helipads.
Piarco International Airport has direct service to destinations in the United States, Canada, Central America, South America and Europe. The airport is the hub for the national airline of Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean Airlines and is a third hub for Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT).
History
Early History
Considered one of the most modern airports in the Caribbean, Piarco Airport opened on January 8, 1931, to serve Venezuela's Compagnie Generale Aeropostale. Before this, the Queen's Park Savannah, the Mucarapo Field, and the Cocorite Docks (for flying boats) were used as airstrips to serve the island.
In World War II the original airfield was used to house the Royal Navy Observer School HMS Goshawk. From 1942 it was also used by both the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force and United States Navy air squadrons. The airport was used both as a transport airfield and also for antisubmarine patrol flights over the south Caribbean. It was returned to civil control after the war.
In World War II the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force stationed the following units at the airport performing antisubmarine patrols:
- 1st Bombardment Squadron (9th Bombardment Group) 24 April-29 October 1941 (B-18 Bolo)
- 10th Bombardment Squadron (25th Bombardment Group) 27 August-12 October 1943 (B-18 Bolo)
- 35th Bombardment Squadron (25th Bombardment Group) 27 August-12 October 1943 (B-18 Bolo)
Modern Day
A major expansion of the airport, which included the construction of a new terminal building, and high-speed taxiways, was completed in 2001. The old airport building is currently used for cargo handling. Piarco International Airport is also the primary hub and operating base of Caribbean Airlines and was also the primary hub and operating base of the now defunct BWIA West Indies Airways and Air Caribbean. Briko Air Services operates a flight school at the airport.
Facilities
At Piarco International Airport there are two high-speed taxiways and three connector taxiways (ICAO Code F for new large aircraft). This technologically state of the art airport has 82 ticket counter positions that operate under SITA's fiber-optic C.U.T.E. system which exceeds the recommended standards of ICAO and IATA. It also has a Flight Information Display System, which serves all airport users and a Baggage Information Display System.
The terminal is a fully air-conditioned, smoke free building, equipped to handle peak-hour passenger traffic of 1,500 processing passengers through a fully computerised immigration system. The Customs Hall has four baggage/cargo carousels.
An administrative/operations building for the Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard is being constructed at the Piarco Air Base. Also, a military airfield will be constructed near the air base.
The control tower at the old terminal building is currently used for air traffic control. The tower at the new terminal building is used for ramp control and runway movement control. A new nine-story control tower is under construction, with radar unlike the existing one,it is scheduled to open in 2010.
The new North Terminal consists of 35,964 m2 (387,110 sq ft) of building with 14 second-level aircraft gates for international flights and 2 ground level domestic gates. The overall layout of the building consists of three main elements: a landside core structure, a single level duty free shopping mall, and a 2-level 'Y' shaped concourse. 100-foot (30 m) cathedral ceilings and glass walls provide passengers and other visitors to the North Terminal with a sense of open space and magnificent views of the Piarco savannah and the nearby Northern mountain range. The public atrium has the largest glass dome in the Caribbean.
The airport is also large enough to accommodate most international widebody airliners including the Boeing 747, Airbus A330-300, Boeing 777, Boeing 767 and the Airbus A340. Piarco International is capable of medium sized aircraft including the Boeing 737, Boeing 757, Airbus A310, as well as small aircraft such as the DeHavilland Dash 8, ATR 72 and other such turboprop aircraft. The airport layout consists of one main terminal building which includes three concourses. These concourses are not strictly identified as their name depicts but are divided into the following areas; Gates 1-7, Gates 8-14 and the Tobago concourse which serves flights to Tobago.
The Air Guard of Trinidad and Tobago is based at Piarco International Airport.[citation needed] During the existence of BWIA West Indies, its head office was on the airport property.[5]
The disused south terminal has been renovated into a VIP terminal for the Summit of The Americas. The North terminal has also received additional remote parking stands. In November 2009, upgrades on the south terminal were completed and the area now serves as a private/executive jet facility for high-end travellers.[6]
The Airport underwent expansion and renovation works in preparation for the Commonwealth Heads Of Government summit in November 2009. These improvements included:
- Repaving and repainting of the taxiways.
- Re-painting of the runway.
- Installation of new Taxiway and runway lighting.
Terminals
Piarco International Airport has two terminals. The south terminal was once the passenger terminal for the airport but has been renovated to serve as an executive terminal. It serves cargo flights, general aviation and helicopter flights. It has fourteen parking positions as well as light aircraft parking.[citation needed] In addition it has the Airports Administration Centre, the head office of the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago.[7] The North terminal is the main passenger terminal. It handles all the commercial passenger airline traffic. The north terminal has twenty-nine parking positions.
In addition to passenger airlines, the airport also handles cargo traffic, general aviation, military and helicopter flights to the many oil rigs present offshore.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| American Airlines | Miami |
| British Airways | London-Gatwick, St. Lucia |
| Caribbean Airlines | Antigua, Barbados, Caracas, Fort Lauderdale, Georgetown-Cheddi Jagan, Grenada, Kingston, London-Gatwick, Miami, New York-JFK, Orlando, Paramaribo, Sint Maarten, Saint Lucia-Vigie, Tobago, Toronto-Pearson |
| Conviasa | Grenada, Porlamar |
| Copa Airlines | Panama City |
| Kingfisher Air Services | Anguilla, Antigua, Dominica, Fort-de-France, Grenada, Nevis, Pointe-à-Pitre, Saint Croix, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Thomas, Saint Vincent, San Juan, Sint Maarten, Tortola |
| LIAT | Antigua, Barbados, Canouan, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Sint Maarten, Saint Lucia-Vigie, Saint Vincent, Tortola |
| Línea Turística Aereotuy | Seasonal charter: Porlamar, Puerto Ordaz |
| Perla Airlines | Porlamar |
| Rutaca Airlines | Seasonal charter: Caracas, Porlamar |
| Sunwing Airlines | Seasonal charter: Toronto-Pearson |
| Surinam Airways | Curaçao, Paramaribo |
| United Airlines | Houston-Bush Intercontinental, Newark-Liberty |
| WestJet | Toronto-Pearson[8] |
The airport also serves as a base for helicopter services by Bristow Caribbean as well as for unscheduled charter flights by Aerolíneas Estelar, Briko Air Services and Guardian Holdings .
Cargo
Accidents and Incidents
- 1963 - (January 5) A Cessna Skywagon carrying two Swedish persons, Torgny Sommelius (Pilot) and Erik Strandmark, crashed landed and caught fire at Piarco killing both of them (2 Deaths).[9]
- 1984 - (July 29) An Aeropostal DC-9 flight from Caracas to Curaçao with 87 persons on board was hijacked in the air by 5 gunmen and forced to land at Piarco. The Trinidad and Tobago Government refused to negotiate with the hijackers and the aircraft departed hours later.[10]
- 1990 - (January 17) A man jumped a fence and was sucked into a British Airways Boeing 747 engine. 1 death.[11]
- 2001 - An Aeropostal MD-80 broke its nose wheel after falling into open trench on taxiway. No deaths.
- 2004 - There were a series of collisions involving ground operator Servisair and three separate aircraft (BWIA 737-800 reg. 9Y-GEO preparing to fly to Miami, BWIA A340-300 reg. 9Y-TJN, prepared to fly to London Heathrow, and Continental 737-800 en route to Houston's Bush Airport.) The damage done to the aircraft was minor. No deaths occurred.
- 2005 - (April 18) Tobago Express Dash 8-300 made an emergency landing after the nose wheel failed to deploy. No deaths.[12]
- 2007 - Briko Air Cessna 172 crash-landed after a botched landing by a student pilot. No deaths.
- 2007 - In October, both Piarco and what was then known as the Crown Point International Airport (now the Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson International Airport) were shut down for at least 2 days due to failed negotiations with the airport staff for better working wages. All flights operated through Piarco and Crown Point were canceled, severely disrupting passengers traveling to Caribbean and International destinations.
- 2007 - A Caribbean Airlines flight from Norman Manley International Airport with stops at Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados and the Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten encountered smoke in the engine of a Boeing 737-800 upon arrival in Piarco. Auxiliary power was lost in the cabin, but there were no reports of injuries of the 84 passengers.
- 2008 - A Briko Air C402 suffered a failure of the right main gear and crash landed, closing the airport for two hours. No deaths.
- 2008 - August 15 An American Airlines Boeing 757-200 made an emergency landing after hydraulic system problems. The aircraft landed safely but the brakes locked up and the plane couldn't exit the runway. Passengers were ferried to the terminal and mechanics took some three hours to remove the aircraft, closing the airport to flight operations. No injuries.[13]
- 2009 - Piarco and Crown Point International Airports suffered massive delays and cancellations after aircraft fuel plagued with massive amounts of sulphur was discovered, rendering the fuel unusable. Airlines to and from Piarco and Crown Point either cancelled or delayed their flights.
- 2010 - (July 14) An American Airlines Boeing 767-300 operating flight 1668 to Miami International was forced to make an emergency landing at the field following a bird strike.No Injuries or deaths were reported among the 212 passengers and crew.
- 2011 - (August 12) A North American Airlines plane was on approach near the Piarco International Airport just after 2pm when the pilots reported smoke coming from the cockpit. The aircraft managed to land safely at the airport with no injuries.
- 2012 - (October 26) A Caribbean Airlines Flight BW300,took off from Piarco International Airport bound for Caracas with four crew and 44 passengers had a section of exterior paneling,which became detached on lift-off at 6.49 a.m. The aircraft, an ATR72, landed back at the Piarco International Airport safely at 7.15 a.m, without injuries.
In popular culture
- Scenes of the airport are featured in season seventh of the television programme Banged Up Abroad.[14]
Awards
- 2006 - The "Caribbean's Leading Airport" - by the World Travel Awards[15]
References
- ^ Weather at the Piarco Airport, WeatherCast UK
- ^ Station Information Listing, NOAA
- ^ Piarco International Airport Statistics
- ^ Trinidad and Tobago charts
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 23, 1999. 66. Retrieved on September 30, 2009. "Administration Building, Golden Grove Road, Piarco International Airport, PO Box 604, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago"
- ^ [1], Trinidad Express.
- ^ "Contact Us." Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved on 12 January 2011. "Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago Airports Administration Centre Piarco International Airport South Terminal Golden Grove Road, Piarco."
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.tt/business/2012-11-19/westjet-launches-service-trinidad-and-tobago
- ^ Letter: Accident at Piarco Airport in 1963, Caribbean Net News
- ^ Venezuelan jetliner hijackers demand military weapons, Associated Press (Archives).
- ^ American Killed When He Jumps Into Jet's Engine, Los Angeles Times.(subscription required)
- ^ Tobago Express makes crash landing in Trinidad, Caribbean Net News.
- ^ American Airline problem forces closure of Trinidad runway, Jamaica Observer.
- ^ R., P. (20 July 2012). "Trinidad and Tobago on National Geographic". Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ Staff writer (2006). "The Caribbean's Leading Airport 2006". World Travel Awards. Retrieved 16 December 2011
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
External links
- Trinidad and Tobago Airports Authority
- Airport information for TTPP at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
- Current weather for TTPP at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for POS at Aviation Safety Network
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