Airport development was the subject of a two-hour meeting between the Anguilla Government and business, hotel and tourism partners, on Tuesday, February 17, at the House of Assembly Chambers. The meeting was called at short notice by Chief Minister, Mr Hubert Hughes.
Mr Patrick Hanley, Adviser to the Chief Minister, chaired the meeting at which some forty persons representing the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association and the Tourist Board were in attendance.
He said the Government thought that before any decision is taken on airport development, that the industry partners should be given an opportunity to share their views or offer any helpful advice on the matter. He saw the event as the first of a number of planned meetings to discuss the issue.
Chief Minister Hughes referred to several efforts made by him with respect to airport development over the years.
“The only way we can get to Anguilla is by sea or by air, and obviously international communications and transport are critical to our survival,” he stated. “The airport situation had become a political football and that’s why I feel that we should open up to the general public, and the hotel industry, because it was very difficult for us to get the British Government, in the 1970s and 80s, to agree that Anguilla should have a tourism industry. Finally, they agreed that we should not go for mass tourism; we should go for the upper end of the market and we have gone for that upper end of the market. At the same time, you have to be able to get in your people.” He emphasised that Anguilla had areas of land for an international airport, and there was an urgent need to move into that direction.
Mr Haydn Hughes, Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism, took the opportunity to speak about his efforts to attract various large airlines to Anguilla, and the need for airport development towards that end.
There was a considerable degree of interest among the industry partners who actively participated in the discussions.
One investor, Mr Brent Woodson, of Florida, who already has some interest in investing in Anguilla, spoke about extending the present airport runway and building a new terminal facility in partnership with the Lake and Kentish families, owners of the land east of the runway. He said the runway would be extended to 9,000 feet, capable of accommodating very large aircraft, and that he was ready to enter into a MOU agreement. He was advised by Mr Hanley that there were also proposals from other investors which, in addition to his, had to be taken into consideration.
