Good to see you joining the family.

Keep the fight going and stay real.

As I pointed out in my earlier post, GAIA has a long way to go before it would in any way approach operating capacity. At the moment, if GAIA has 120 aircraft movements per day, they have a lot. To reach operating capacity, they would have to somehow reach 30-40 movements PER HOUR, and operate 24/7/365. I can tell you the because of the nature of airline scheduling to the Caribbean, and because of the fickle and cyclical nature of tourism, it is highly unlikely that airlines like Air Canada, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic or American would go to more than 3 flights per day. That would bring the daily aircraft movements up to around 150, way off the saturation capacity of the airport. In addition, the trend is to smaller aircraft, with the exception of VS [Virgin Atlantic] who have ordered the A380 which seats around 600.

I may be completely wrong, and I certainly do not have a crystal ball, but I can’t see GAIA ever reaching saturation capacity, and especially if oil continues to climb [just today AA announced cutbacks to their schedule]. And unlike the governor of the Central Bank, I can’t see an American economic revival forcing the price of oil downwards [I have only 2 words for the good governor as to why the price of oil will not come down: China and India]. And unless oil somehow moderates or decreases in price, there are going to be fewer airlines flying.

A trifling contrarian position to your otherwise excellent and perceptive post.

Cheers,

IE.

Kellman might want to suggest that in the USA and UK the fact that other airports are available outside of Gatwick and Heathrow does not make it an apples and apples comparison.

GAIA has approximately 100-130 aircraft movements [an aircraft "movement" is defined as 1 take-off and 1 landing] per day at the most. LaGuardia in New York, by contrast, has that same number PER HOUR. Toronto has slightly less. London Heathrow about the same. Using this sole criterion, a 2nd airport for Barbados, or a 2nd runway for GAIA is indefensible. The only way a small, commuter-type airport could be justified is as a base for the RSS.

Airports consume huge amounts of real estate. Land that is converted into asphalt for an airport is land that is out of agricultural production. Airports also consume huge numbers of dollars for maintenance. Any airport that handles passengers must have instrument landing capabilities and that cost money to set up, calibrate, and maintain. Precision is essential; you can’t say, “Well, it’s only a couple of yards off center.” That’ll put an airplane off the runway and into the canes, with the accompanying big bang!

To say that all inter-island traffic could use the St. Lucy airport and international jet traffic could land at GAIA is also specious reasoning, bearing in mind the increased pressure on the roads and communications infrastructure – not to mention the cost – of having a shuttle service between St. Lucy and the southern areas of the island and GAIA [ask anyone who has taken an international flight into Hewanorra, St. Lucia and then has to take a cab ride to Castries to catch a LIAT flight onward].

Not to be the proverbial wet blanket and a killjoy to Mr. Kellman’s suggestions, but the idea of a second airport for Barbados is, IMHO, indefensible, on logistical, financial, environmental, and social grounds, as is the idea of a 2nd runway for GAIA.

Enough of these delusions of grandeur and be practical, and make what Barbados ALREADY has work better and more efficiently. Put the money into the QEH and build a new hospital, not airport, in the north of Barbados. Let Barbadians’ tax dollars serve the citizens and residents of Barbados, not the fickle and finicky tourists.

Now there’s a novel concept!

Get St. Lucy’s roads fixed first!

They’re a disgrace.

The St. Lucy airport and seaport pie in the sky thing I dont know what to say . Sounds a bit hair brained to me. Kellman as we all know is all about Kellman. It was interesting he refused comment when the self installed Emperor of Barbados ,Sir Cow call for removal of Arawak and its replacement with a cruise port. SIR COW is not to be trusted . Kellman-omics is about stroking kellman’s elephant size ego. Sealey needs to shut up and produce increased tourist dollars. St.Lucy airport, seaport like buying Broolkyn Bridge. More mirage than actual an enormous drain on taxpayers without guaranteed returns.

However, as a consequence of what we were reading in the Saturday Sun’s Editorial of May 10, 2008, that this already wayward DLP Government would be looking at the feasibility of having an airport, cruise ship berths, etc, in the north as part of “an effort to broaden tourism beyond the West and South Coasts”, we in PDC can only begin to think how this concept of having an airport in the north has been so totally obscenely, yet so cowardly hijacked by a small narrow-minded, self serving few in Barbados – who continue to think that certain nationally important things can only go ahead or get popularized on the basis of their fiat or involvement – and when it suits them to do so – that for many members in our party to think that such an idea will come into manifestation any time within, say, the next 15 years, would indeed be misthinking on their part, given that the government is NOT really that serious enough about so many things including the establishment of such an airport. If they were that serious about the idea of an airport in the north, such would have been part of their visionless, artless, ordinary 2008 election manifesto, we believe. But, then, they were NEVER serious about reducing the cost of living in Barbados, yet it has been a promise made in their last Manifesto!!

Nevertheless, we in PDC would like to get back on track and ask: where was the visible moral and political support for Mr. Kellman from Mr. Sealy and others in the DLP when Mr. Kellman first had floated such a concept in the House of Assembly some time ago? Where was the open moral and political support for Mr. Kellman from many DLP head honchos when Mr. Kellman was talking some time ago about the Abolition of so-called personal income taxation? Where was the damn support? Where was it when Mr. Kellman appeared to be the lone strong DLP voice criticizing the destruction of the then old Kensington Oval, when instead the old venue should have been kept by the BCA and Government, and an entirely new venue built some where else in the country (Kelly might have suggested some where in St. Lucy), thus saving the country much wasted money on destroying the old venue and building a different one on the same location? After long ignoring many of Mr. Kellman’s ideas, why must many DLP leaders now appear to be in obeisance to many of these ideas? Because he is a known semi-firebrand, and therefore he has to be kept cool in order for the DLP ship of state to appear to be sailing as best as possible in these rough waters that we are presently experiencing?

But, by at last finding the common sense to be now seen to be factitiously supporting some of Kelly’s earlier positions – now that Sir Charles has talked – though very wrongly and out of place – about marinas and tourism development for the north of Barbados – this bunch of late learners – those who now seek to be so openly but so shamelessly supporting Mr. Kellman’s ideas – have, in our view, gone ahead and sought to support Kelly’s positions for so many wrong reasons. And, by so unintelligently and callously seeking to tie the concept of an airport to tourism development for the north (even the usually intelligent and astute James Paul has apparently fallen prey to this nonsense – pg. 41, Weekend Nation, Friday, May 9, 2008 ), these people think they are about to succeed in getting the masses and middle classes to buy into their rubbish, if only because “tourism is our business” – more trash!! But, they are wrong!! Because, thousands upon thousands of Barbadians already know that tourism is NOT OUR business, and that that is really the business of the elite and the government.

With regard to the 82 acres of land that is being proposed for tourism development purposes, what is very clear is that these aforementioned people want the masses and middle classes of Barbados to buy into what is clearly another ill-conceived and dangerous proposition that another wretched government is prepared to foist on the people of this country. Indeed, because of the type of geology, environment, and location, et al, of the St. Lucy, that part of the north is clearly NOT suited for tourism development. It is far more suited to industrial and manufacturing development!! Not even the half foolishness that the East Coast is to be left for Barbadians alone is enough to make the masses and middle classes NOT see through the wider DLP government’s irrational agenda to allow many more of our precious lands to be sold to foreigners. Also, the vast majority of DLP members and many local and foreign investors in tourism know that St. Lucy is NOT the best place for tourism development!!! What they are fundamentally doing – in the case of these 82 acres of land – is really commiting a ruse – to get more of our precious lands to be sold to foreigners in exchange for filthy lucre. While we are at it, what has really become of the BLP-BST inspired Pierhead Development Project?

In closing, the fact of the matter is that Barbados right now is putting too much emphases on so-called tourism development, when instead Barbados ought to be presently putting greater emphases on greater agricultural, agroprocessing, and heavy duty intensive manufacturing development, and linking such with greater focus on the repositioning, redeveloping and consolidating of the wider commercial, transportation and residential sectors in Barbados, and such on the basis of the right revolutionary political, social, material and financial policies and programs. Meanwhile, keep humble, forthright and visionary, Mr. Kellman!!

PDC

This is exactly how we ended up with the ABC highway scam which is NOT going to solve the traffic chaos problems.

Bizzy Williams, Minister of Communications of the Williams brothers Government, drops in on Glyne Clarke with a great ‘flyover’ solution…

…We all know the rest.

Before we could clean up that mess, Sir COW himself eyes a Mariner where the cement plant is located and now Ambassador Kellman wants an airport so he can get to parliament pass the traffic…(not really, .. but Bush tea could not resist…)

What do all these scenarios have in common with Former Minister Walcott’s brainchild of building a new Hospital for 700 Million dollars? …and Hillary Beckles wanting 300 Million to invest at Cave Hill?

…a fool and his money is soon parted…

The good news is that (since these are two top Government officials speaking), we still seem to have some more monies waiting to be ‘parted’… Things may not be as bad as we had heard – maybe Sir Roy will get his double digits after all….