The Terrance B Lettsome Airport on Beef Island
Managing Director of the BVI Airports Authority (BVIAA), Kurt Menal, has urged motorists to stop parking along the roadway parallel to Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, warning that the practice is creating safety and traffic hazards on Beef Island.
Menal told 284 Media the Authority has formally engaged the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force to address the issue, which he described as a growing concern for airport operations and the wider motoring public. Vehicles parked along the side of the road, he explained, have narrowed the carriageway and increased the risk to drivers using the route.
“You would notice that there’s, for some reason, parking along the side of the road,” Menal said, adding that discussions were underway with the police and the Ministry of Communications to resolve the problem. “That has created a major problem, not just for the airport, but for the people who use the road because it has become a hazard,” he stated.
Menal issued a direct appeal to motorists to desist from parking near the airport roadway, emphasising that enforcement and physical measures are planned. “So I would appeal to the public now, do not park along the side of the road or the highway near to the airport,” he said.
He noted that road markings would be installed by the ministry and supplemented by bollards to prevent parking in the affected area, stressing that the BVIAA does not encourage the practice “in any way at all,” Menal stated.
The roadway serves as a key access route to the territory’s main airport and is used daily by airport traffic and commuters who take water taxis to the outer islands, heightening safety concerns when vehicles are left along the verge. The Airports Authority said the planned measures aim to restore safe passage along the corridor and reduce risks to motorists and airport users.
The practice of roadside parking escalated following the BVIAA’s introduction of a new automated parking system and standoff zone to improve airport traffic flow and enhance security at the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport last year. The parking system upgrade was part of a broader modernisation of the airport, which includes plans to lengthen the runway to accommodate larger aircraft.
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