WEDNESDAY October 20, 2021 saw four international flights landing at the Argyle International Airport (AIA), a historic occurrence since it was commissioned in 2017.

Caribbean Airlines had two flights, along with one each of American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

An official at the AIA, said “We have been preparing for this eventuality for a long time in all areas. Although there were not these many flights in any one day, there was constant preparation of staff in all the areas to accommodate arriving passengers, turnaround time for flights, and other related areas because how we handle these responsibilities will determine the success of the AIA.”

The CAL flight which originated out of the JFK International Airport in New York, disembarked 32 passengers, and 62 passengers boarded the return flight to JFK.

The other CAL flight which did the JFK-Piarco- AIA route brought in 67 passengers, with 15 boarding for the return flight out of AIA.

The American Airlines flight, which arrived at about 2:00 p.m., disembarked 106 passengers, and left for the American mainland with 66 passengers on board.

Virgin Atlantic touched down at 3:24 p.m. from Barbados, bringing in 28 passengers, and left for Heathrow International via Grantley Adams International in Barbados with 38 passengers from SVG on board.

With four international flights touching down within the space of four hours, the official said that operations went smoothly; there being no backup of arriving passengers in the arrivals lounge.

“Everything went smoothly for management was and is aware that having multiple flights [within] a small time frame can tax the airport’s resources, so yesterday showed that all of the preparation paid off,” the AIA official added. Ahead of the turn around a team of men outfitted in PPE suits was seen entering the aircraft. The official said this team “is a mixture of a sanitisation crew, groomers, and the aviation security personnel. They are responsible for cleaning and sanitising the cabin, and ensuring that there are no stowaways or dangerous items because the aircraft must be deemed safe before passengers could be allowed to board.”

The AIA official was pleased with the overall management of the four flights, especially the personnel who assisted the arriving passengers, “for first impression counts.”