With the runway lights completely restored last evening, night flights to and from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri have fully resumed.
At around 4:00 pm yesterday the airport’s Facebook page announced that the first of the two circuits which were damaged on Sunday night was in operation and night flights were expected. The statement said that the update was conveyed to airlines through a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM).
“As of now, the airport has accommodated ten flights, comprising a private aircraft, a cargo plane, and eight-passenger flights,” the post said.
In a later statement, posted at around 7:00 pm yesterday, the airport noted that all circuits were fully operable. Several flights, it added, were scheduled to land at CJIA last night.
Due to severe thunderstorms and lightning strikes on Sunday night, two independent circuits at the airport runway were damaged, causing the lights to go out. As a result, an American Airlines flight had to be diverted to Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago, a Jet Blue flight to San Juan Puerto Rico, and an Inter-Caribbean Airlines flight was forced to return to Barbados.
Following the incident, a statement by CJIA late Sunday night said that the airport’s maintenance team, with the help of personnel from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), was working to rectify the situation.
“CJIA will now undertake a thorough evaluation of the current lightning protection system to enhance resilience against future lightning strikes. The airport extends its gratitude to its stakeholders and the traveling public for their support during the recent disruptions,” the latest statement said.
