AIA’S 8th Anniversary- Expanding our horizons

It is with a profound sense of national pride that today I offer my heartiest congratulations to the government and people of St Vincent and the Grenadines on the occasion of the 8th anniversary of the opening of our essential Argyle International Airport, our lifeline to the world of travel and global interaction. Opened on Feb.

14, 2017, a better Valentine’s gift to this nation would be hard to imagine.

On reflection, it is amazing what we have been able to achieve in modernizing our air access. Already our situation with the E.T. Joshua airport has gone out of the minds of many, but those who, like me, had to undergo the horrors of air travel pre-AIA, must appreciate greatly, the construction of the AIA. There was the uncertainty of making appointments in time given the constant delays, and worse of all, there was the horror which faced us at Grantley Adams Airport in Barbados, then our major connection to the rest of the world.

Here at home, we struggled with our limited airport at Arnos Vale, plagued by location and all the horrors related to it. You could arrive at Arnos Vale only to find it completely flooded as its location at the bottom of the valley left it vulnerable to the run-off from heavy rains collecting at the bottom. Even airport workers were sometimes forced to resort to the airport counters for rescue.

We may say that is caused by nature, but so too was the wind factor. Sometimes the air plane arrived over SVG but had to circle because of the crosswind factor. Circling of course caused delays, but sometimes it was worse, planes had to turn around and “return to sender” because it was too dangerous to land.

In addition, the arrangements at E.T. Joshua were such that if there were delays beyond our closing time here, planes could not land. When you got back to Barbados the airline would not take responsibility for overnight accommodation, saying it was no fault of theirs. So, you could imagine trying to get overnight accommodation, taxi service and getting back to the airport early in the morning because you then had no confirmed flight.

No matter how we look at it, the situation had gotten out of hand. Successive governments knew this but pussy-footed around the issue, “brambling” us with talk of having the money for the new airport in their back pockets. It became a political issue, playing with the future of our country. All and sundry now realise, even some who opposed the construction of the AIA on the grounds of political opportunism or sheer backwardness, that this country would not have had a future, at least not a positive one, without an international airport.

Prime Minister Gonsalves had the courage to bite the bullet, realising that air connection was vital to our development thrust. It is amazing to recall now the ridiculous arguments made by opponents who neither had the courage nor the foresight to think that big. Some of these charlatans are still in Parliament, apparently unashamed of their obstructionist tactics, including misleading supporters of their party. I conversed with some supporters of the Opposition who became convinced that one could not build an international airport at Argyle. Eight years after is not too late to confess and apologize for one’s lack of vision and,moreso, the blatant attempts at deception. If you are going to oppose, do your homework. You would not have been able to get the answer right, but at least you would have tried.

I do not have to extol the virtues of the AIA or its critical importance to our developmental thrust. The facts speak for themselves but the whole exercise has exposed the emptiness of certain politicians, their lack of vision and courage to pursue options of our own. Even today, this flagship of our developmental march is still regarded with hostility by those who should be hiding in shame.

Whatever Ralph Gonsalves’ personal shortcomings, issues like the AIA reveal his vision, willingness to work with some not of his natural political inclination, in order to propel our country forward. Anytime one has to rely on lies and deception to advance one’s political interests, it gets the danger signals flashing. The critical importance of the AIA to our tourism thrust is now undeniable. So too is its relation to many other economic fields.

But from a social, a nationalist perspective, you can’t beat the role that the AIA is now playing in our connectivity. We are seeing international carriers competing for full payloads from North America and the UK/Europe. In the process we are getting more ready access at cheaper prices. This means a lot to families and connections. We and our people in the diaspora are much closer than before.

As we begin to gear up for a hotly contested elections, we must let the lessons of the AIA guide us in regard to the choices before us.

Long live the AIA and its further development and expansion!

• Renwick Rose is a Social and Political commentator.