Hewanorra International Airport (IATA: UVF, ICAO: TLPL), near Vieux Fort Quarter, Saint Lucia, in the Caribbean, is the larger of the country's two airports and is managed by the Saint Lucia Air and Seaports Authority (SLASPA).

The airport is a Fire Category 9 airport that handles 500,000 passengers a year and has the capability to handle the Boeing 747, Airbus A330, Airbus A340 and other similar aircraft. Aircraft maintenance there is carried out by Caribbean Dispatch Services. George F. L. Charles Airport is located in Castries and handles inter-Caribbean flights.

History

Hewanorra International Airport was originally named Beane Army Airfield and was used as a military airfield by the United States Army Air Force Sixth Air Force and used in World War II. Beane Field was activated in early 1941 with a mission to defend Saint Lucia against an enemy attack.

The former USAF base was then refurbished and converted into a commercial airport. There is a disused northeast/southwest runway north of the main east-west runway that was part of the military airfield. It is in poor condition, along with a few dispersals.

Expansion

As the amount of airtraffic handled at Hewanorra International Airport is steadily increasing every year,St.Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority has requested and received a master plan for the redevleopment and redisign of HIA. There has been much controversy surrounding the project as some say, at an estimated cost of US $160 million, it could set back the country's economy. Many have argued and said that expanding the airport will expand the country's economic outlook. the new terminal design includes: construction of a new terminal building, installation of jet bridges, a new modern control tower, increase in aircraft apron parking positions from five to eight in phase 1 of the project and then to twelve in phase 2; development of a Fixed Base Operation (FBO); redevelopment and relocation of a new air cargo facility; and construction of a new carpark and road infrastructure network. As the projections indicate, passenger throughput is expected to increase by aprox. 750,000 passengers. The new terminal building is proposed to be constructed in stages consistent with passenger growth. The facility will improve the airport's aesthetcs by separating cargo from commercial aircraft and will be able to handle large aircrafts such as Boeing 747, Airbus A380, Boeing 777 and other similar aircraft. The new design will reduce airport congestion and improve passenger comfort and create a positive passenger experience. Work on the airport will take about two years.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines serving this airport are:

Charter

Cargo

• Amerijet International
• DHL
• FedEx Express

Accidents and Incidents

Quebec Air flight 714, a Boeing 707 operating a flight from Toronto, caught a wind shear while on approach to Hewanorra international airport on 19 February 1979. The windshear caused the aircraft to halt its descent while already over the threshold. The copilot who was flying at that time retarded the throttles, however at that very moment the aircraft had passed the windshear zone and the nose of the aircraft slammed into the runway and bounced twice, destroying the nose landing gear. There were no fatalities and minor injuries in this incident. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and was written off.

British Airways flight 2158 encountered difficulty lifting off the runway while attempting to depart from Hewanorra International Airport to London-Gatwick on 6 June 2010. The BA pilots were able to bring the aircraft to a halt, only allowing the nose wheel of the Boeing 777-200 to overrun the runway. It took awhile for the aircraft to be removed as a few flights were diverted to other airports because of the incident. There were no injuries or fatalities.

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
We don't guarantee the information is fresh and accurate. The data may be wrong or outdated.
For more up-to-date information please refer to other sources.