Argyle International Airport remains closed

By Demion McTair. Updated 2:10 p.m., Friday, April 16, 2021, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

Kingstown, St. Vincent: The Argyle International Airport (AIA) in St. Vincent remains closed, the airport’s management announced on Friday.

All flights have been suspended.

The airport was closed on April 9, 2021, when the La Soufriere volcano erupted, spewing ash all over the country.

The airport is located in the Green (safe) Zone, some 19.2 kilometers (11.9 miles) from the summit of the volcano, but suffered from significant ash deposits.

Ash inundated Argyle International Airport on April 10, 2021. Photo: Demion McTair

“The extensive clean-up effort at AIA is ongoing as we seek to resume operations in the shortest possible time,” the airport’s management stated in a release on Friday.

“Further updates will be given as the clean-up process advances,” the release stated.

Workers cleaning ash from the airport. Photo: AIA.

The Argyle International Airport is the main airport in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It has a runway of more than 9,000 feet long and can accommodate large aircraft with non-stop flights from the US, the UK, Canada and Europe.

The other airports in the country which are operational include the Canouan Jet Airport, the J.F. Mitchell Airport, the Mustique Airport, and the Union Island Airport.

The other airports are smaller and mainly facilitate jets and private flight between the islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and neighbouring islands such as Barbados, St. Lucia, and Grenada.