GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Aviation authorities here said that several flights affected by the disruption at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) as a result of the weather on Sunday, are expected to resume on Monday.
runway at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (Ministry of Works Photo)Heavy rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning damaged several pieces of equipment at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Sunday, forcing the forcing the diversion of a number of international flights, the Ministry of Public Works had confirmed.
In a statement Monday, CJIA said its team along with teams from the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) are working “to rectify the runway lighting system that was damaged during Sunday’s severe thunderstorm and lightning”.
The Ministry of Public Works said that the weather had damaged “several” transformers belonging to the GPL and the CJIA and “as a result, the airport runway lighting became inoperable.
“The runway is equipped with two independent circuits, each of which can facilitate aircraft landings. Regrettably, both the primary and alternate circuits were impacted. The airport staff maintenance team with the support of GPL are working to rectify the problem,” the Public Works said in a brief statement.
CJIA said several airlines have confirmed a rescheduling of their flights, including American Airlines flights AA 2557 from JFK which was diverted to Barbados, and now expected to arrive here at 13:09hrs (local time), AA 1512 to Miami, which is now scheduled to depart at 13:49hrs It said AA 1513 from Miami, diverted to Barbados, has a new estimated time of arrival is 13:39hrs, while AA 1534 is estimated to depart to Miami at 14:19hrs.
The US-based JetBlu has also given new schedule arrival times after having diverted flights to Puerto Rico and Panama.
The CJIA said it is working to restore the runway lighting system in shortest period, and will continue to provide updates on the situation.
