The removal of kerbside drop-offs at the airport for private vehicles as well as other traffic flow arrangements now in place at Owen Roberts International Airport are under review, Cayman Islands Airports Authority chairman Johann Moxam has confirmed.
Moxam, speaking with the Cayman Compass on Wednesday, indicated that a formal announcement will be made “in due course” on the plans for kerbside drop-offs and security arrangements at the airport.
“As result of ongoing discussions, the proposed solution to address the issues will be presented to the overseas regulators, Governor’s Office and Cabinet in short order now that all relevant stakeholders seem to be on the same page,” Moxam told the Compass.
The issue of the removal of kerbside drop-offs was raised last week when the CIAA announced the resumption of parking fees at the airport, which come into effect on 1 Feb.
While the authority addressed the fees, the restriction on the drop-offs remained, even though there were concerns raised by the public about the changes.
When first announced, the traffic changes, which removed the public’s access to kerbside drop-offs at the terminal, were presented as part of adhering to security standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
However, the Governor’s Office, in a statement last week, indicated that it was a traffic-congestion solution, but it said it was open to assessing other proposals if they satisfied international standards.
That statement followed comments from Moxam, which were critical of the changes at the airport.
Security at airports in British Overseas Territories is a governor/UK constitutional responsibility.
In response to a media report in which Moxam was cited, the Governor’s Office said that gave “a misleading and inaccurate picture” since it had supported an earlier proposal from the Cayman Islands Airports Authority that would have seen private vehicles move to the outer lane that had been used by taxis and buses, and taxis and buses moved to the lane nearer to the terminal building.
However, that plan was scrapped because it did not address congestion issues at Owen Roberts.
The Governor’s Office said it and Air Safety Support International, the UK regulator for Overseas Territories airports, had accepted the earlier plan, which was a “simple, very low cost measure” that “involved little inconvenience”.
But the airport’s separate need to fix the long-standing issue of traffic congestion at busy times “led to a more complex and expensive solution being developed”.
“The Governor and the UK are entirely comfortable with kerbside drop-off, provided minimal security enhancements can be agreed. It is incorrect to say the UK sought to impose the current solution on the airport,” the statement noted.
The Compass had reached out to the CIAA following the Governor’s Office statement, but the authority declined to comment.
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We dropped off a couple of 85 year old friends at the airport a few days ago. It was very hard for them to haul their luggage in the heat from the short term parking lot. It would have been miserable in the rain.
And for what purpose except to make it more inconvenient for people using the airport?
Pure stupidity!
Have you thought about cell lots. It works great in the US
Can Mr Moxam please inform the public what the final cost of the terminal renovation was, we have been waiting for more than 2 years.
No big rush on this. With all the multiple Covid testings going on, tourists won’t be causing congestion at the airport for many months to come.
I disagree ! It takes too long to change things around here. It should be fixed now -especially after reading Martin K.’s experience!!
Soooo….There I was during last Saturday’s cloudburst on my way to catch a flight home to the Brac. Total deluge for several hours.
“No, you can’t park here and drop off your suitcase. Go to short term parking.”
Drove round in a big circle. Got a paper ticket and parked rental car as close as possible to airport entrance. Grabbed a cart, unloaded car, and ran through the pouring rain to go into the airport.
Stood dripping while Cayman Airways checked me in after showing usual Covid stuff including last minute LFT at Doctor’s Express when this requirement was implemented at the last minute “before the long weekend” – like 12 hours before.
Having explained that I must return my rental car to Andy’s (never a problem usually), the CAL stuff were very understanding and allowed me to leave my computer and backpack with them until my return to stop them getting any wetter.
Ran back to my rental car – got saturated again.
So…the parking ticket got wet and the machine would neither accept it nor my credit card. I noticed several other people in the two lines were having the same problem.
We all backed out of the line to the machine and I somehow managed to get back to Andy’s to drop off my car.
Car duly dropped off I ran back to the airport getting resaturated. Gratefully collected my computer and backpack from the super CAL staff and dripped my way into the departure lounge.
While I was attempting to dry off with paper towels in the Men’s toilet, I heard a muffled announcement.
It then appeared that the runway was underwater and nothing could take off or land – including Air Canada,
Over an hour later the Brac flight was announced. It was still pouring. We all duly made our way to the aircraft and ran a 4-umbrella relay to get onboard.
I guess I had a bit of a soggy seat on the Express, but was so happy to get back to the Brac’s sunshine.
I am not going to comment on this experience other than to say it would have made a great Monty Python or Faulty Towers skit.