Now that the major airlines serving Anguilla have been temporarily withdrawn, all eyes are on Wallblake Airport where expansion work is in progress. It is not only the taxi-drivers who are looking on, but everybody involved in the tourist and hotel industry, as well as those persons who generally use the air services and know the importance of a functioning airport. The employees of the airlines are also concerned because their jobs are negatively affected.

The virtual closure of the airport to regular aircraft movements must also be placing increased pressure on the contractor and the workers engaged in the project. There appears to be a considerable amount of work remaining to be done and from a layman’s point of view the task appears to be a great one.

Notwithstanding this, there has been no word from the contractor, the consultant or the Government that the proposed completion date – December 17 – will not be met. They all appear to be positive and it is this assurance that everybody is relying on.

Anguilla has returned to the early days when the airport could only accommodate tiny aircraft but, with no tourist industry then and only a few travelers, it was not a problem. The soothing fact is that when the airport is all ready and functioning things will not only return to normal but, with all its limitations, Anguilla will have a better runway. With the further tourism development taking place on the island, an improved airport will be a welcome component.

Let all of us hope that everything will be just fine in the end; that the runway will be finished on schedule and that rather than dropping off our visitors at Juliana Airport in St. Maarten in December, that they will be flown straight to Wallblake, Anguilla, from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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