AIRPORT--Experts from various airports that comprise the Islands’ Airport Safety Committee (IASC) will be discussing issues related to all aspects of operational safety at aerodromes at a conference hosted by Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) from today, Monday to this coming Friday.
Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) Cornelius de Weever will officially open the conference, which will attract delegations from Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius and Suriname.
According to PJIA delegation head Stefania Kong-Gumbs of the Quality Assurance Department, the conference was supposed to have been held in September 2017 but had to be cancelled due to Hurricane Irma.
PJIA was given the opportunity to host this year’s event by the IASC president and PJIA Chief Operations Officer (COO) Michel Hyman accepted on behalf of the airport. At the opening session, Hyman plans to provide the conference with updates and information about developments at the airport following the severe damage inflicted by Irma last year.
US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expert Kenneth Taira will give a presentation on “Safety in Airport Design” while colleague Mahendra Raghubeer will follow with a presentation on Safety in Airport Operations.
“Aviation safety is at the core of our airport’s fundamental objectives. We are constantly striving, in close collaboration with partnering airports and the entire air transport community, to further improve aviation’s successful safety performance while maintaining a high level of capacity and efficiency.
“We are indeed happy to be able to host the conference this year, in spite of all the challenges of rebuilding our airport and island after the unprecedented damage suffered at the hands of Irma and Maria last year,” said Hyman.
