Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/5487/-1/140/
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INCREASED JETS FOR THANKSGIVING
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The ramp for executive jets flying into Wallblake Airport in Anguilla from the North-eastern United States in particular has been crowded over the past several days. The special occasion was the US Thanksgiving holiday week during which a number of American’s “rich and famous,” including actors and former US Vice President, Al Gore, were guests at various hotels and villas on the island.
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Part of the fleet of jet aircraft at Wallblake Airport
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There were twelve jets at the airstrip on Sunday, November 25, waiting to fly the holiday-makers back to the United States and more were coming in. They included Cessnas, Citations, Falcons, Challengers and G’4s. The parking of the aircraft was quite a challenge for the busy staff at Lloyd’s Aviation Services, the exclusive ground-handler of the jets flying into the island. At times the parking can be even more challenging when up to 20 planes may be on the parking area, all needing to be carefully manoeuvred and towed into place.
David Lloyd, proprietor of Lloyd’s Aviation Services, who is doing a fantastic job, spoke to The Anguillian about the visitors and the aircraft they arrived on: “They normally get into Anguilla on the Thanksgiving Week and leave by weekend. Yesterday (Saturday, November 24), there was a significant number of aircraft departures and today (Sunday, November 25), we will probably see between 18 and 20,” he reported.
Lloyd was asked how busy his company was being kept by the many jets coming to Anguilla.
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One of the Executive jets at Wallblake Airport
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“We are really busy at times bearing in mind though that our business is very seasonal,” he replied. “It starts around Thanksgiving and ends at Easter. We are working really with five months out of twelve; but when it is busy it is really busy.”
He said the present jet ramp at the northern shoulder of the airstrip was presenting a big challenge to his company as it was now too small for the many arriving jets which had exceeded earlier expectations. He is anxiously looking forward to the new and larger ramp and FBO area which he hopes to have constructed west of the Air Traffic Control Tower in time for the next season.
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Part of the fleet of jets
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“The new ramp will mean a lot for us,” he commented. “It will mean that we can market ourselves more as a transit point for St. Barths. We are actively marketing Anguilla as an alternative stop for people travelling to St. Barths. One of the challenges we are facing is that we do not have adequate ramp space so we have been really careful as to what we do and what we say. We do not want a situation where we say we are the gateway to St. Barths and when the jets show up there is not enough parking space.”
Mr. Lloyd was speaking as one of the jets screamed across the runway for its return journey to the United States – taking some of the celebrities who chose to vacation in Anguilla instead of St. Barths.