A Delta Air Lines aircraft collided with a stairs truck, causing it to tip over, at the apron at Owen Roberts International Airport this afternoon, the Cayman Islands Airports Authority has confirmed.
No injuries were reported.
The wing of the 737-900 aircraft was damaged in the collision, which occurred as the plane was parking, the airports authority said in a statement this afternoon.
The incident occurred at 12:51pm, after the Delta flight from Atlanta landed.
Flight operations were affected for about 20 minutes, the airports authority said, while the Cayman Islands Fire Service was diverted to the scene.
The stairs truck was owned by Delta’s ground-handling service provider, FADS, the airports authority noted.
Stairs trucks are used at Owen Roberts to transport stairs to aircraft doors, as the airport does not have air bridges.
The incident led to a delay in the departure of the Delta flight to Atlanta, which had been scheduled to take off at 1:55pm. It is now scheduled to depart at 7:40pm this evening.
The airports authority said it was undertaking a “full investigation” into the incident.
“We remain committed to upholding the highest standards of security and safety at our Airports and will continue to work diligently, along with airport partners, to prevent such incidents in the future. We appreciate the cooperation and understanding of our passengers during this time,” the airports authority said in the statement.
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I trust the CIAA will publish the results of their investigation so we all know who was to blame.
Yet another example of why GCM should install air bridges. It’s quite ridiculous to still be using stairs to/from the aircraft allowing passengers to be soaked on arrival, and cause possible injuries as they struggle with hand luggage. Upon arrival it sends a terrible message to new arrivals who must think they’ve arrived in a quaint, third world country.
As far as I can see, the airport authorities still haven’t included air bridges in their future expansion plans whilst regularly cranking up the airport fees and charges for the privilege of departing here. The Tourism Dept has publicly said that they wish to attract more high-end visitors and residents; start by bringing the airport in the 21st century.