Prevailing winds have been linked to the “irregular operation” of American Airline (AA) flight 3989 which departed the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport (TBLIA) on Sunday, June 4, en route to the Miami International Airport.
The confirmation came from the Managing Director of the BVI Airports Authority (BVIAA) Mr. Kurt Menal via a statement to our news agency on Monday, following an assessment of the situation by American Airlines.
He said the irregular weather conditions experienced in the territory on Sunday affected all flights to and from the airport on Beef Island, with flights having to depart from the east of the runway as opposed to the west.
These conditions he said likewise affected AA flight 3989 which had to impose further restrictions to allow for the safe departure of the flight from the runway at the airport, which is much shorter in length when compared to the runways of the airline’s other destinations.
“It is well documented that AA operates at TBLIA with restrictions based on the available runway length and provisions are made on their part for this. There are further restrictions that they must incorporate into their operational planning should they have to depart from a different direction than normal,” Menal stated.
He added, “In the case of TBLIA they would normally depart from the west. This weekend was peculiar as aircrafts were forced to depart from the east due to the prevailing winds.”
Menal also revealed that the challenges experienced on Sunday were not specific to the BVI as the airline also experienced similar challenges when they first launched in Dominica.
He said American Airlines have assured the BVI Airports Authority that the situation is rectified.
The development follows a social media post that went viral across the territory where a passenger gave their account of what took place on Sunday during the flight.
The passenger alleged that a decision was made to remove all luggage from the aircraft as well as several persons to reduce the overall weight of the flight. In addition, they said the airline had to reduce their fuel level prior to safely departing Beef Island. This chain of events according to the passenger took more than one and a half hours.
A full statement on the assessment is expected to be provided to the public.