GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC—Aviation authorities here said that several flights affected by the disruption at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) due to the weather on Sunday are expected to resume on Monday.
The Ministry of Public Works confirmed that heavy rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, damaged several pieces of equipment at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Sunday, forcing the diversion of a number of international flights.
On Monday, CJIA said its team and 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 has confirmed that several airlines, including American Airlines, have rescheduled their flights. For instance, American Airlines flight AA 2557 from JFK, which was diverted to Barbados, is expected to arrive at CJIA at 13:09 hrs (local time). AA 1512 to Miami is now scheduled to depart at 13:49 hrs. AA 1513 from Miami, diverted to Barbados, has a new estimated time of arrival at 13:39 hrs, while AA 1534 is estimated to depart Miami at 14:19 hrs.
The US-based JetBlue has also given new scheduled arrival times after diverting flights to Puerto Rico and Panama.
The CJIA said it is working to restore the runway lighting system as soon as possible and will continue to provide updates on the situation.
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