Eventful year at LF Wade saw AirTran service launched

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 7: LF Wade International has hosted plenty of welcome visitors this year.

There was Prince Edward, a squadron of RAF fighter pilots and the hundreds of aviation experts who attended the Airports Council International annual conference in November.

Then there have been a few unwelcome visitors too.

For example the 45-year-old woman on a Thomson flight bound for the Dominican Republic whose loutish behaviour forced the plane to divert into Bermuda where she was arrested.

And then there have been the outright bizarre incidents like when a disgruntled passenger ripped all her clothes off in the arrival’s lounge after being asked to consent to a body search.

“2011 has been a very busy year for us,” says airport general manager Aaron Adderley.

“There have been some unusual occurrences.

“I don’t think we have ever had someone strip down in the customs queue before but there have been the usual diversions for sick and unruly passengers.

“People who keep an eye on what is going on at the airport will have noticed coastguard aircraft from time to time and the odd jumbo jet that has been forced to be diverted here.

“Then there have been times when planes call in because of intoxicated or unruly passengers who are causing a nuisance on the plane. We work closely with the police and allow them to do their job in diffusing the situation as soon as they arrive.

“We have also had the RAF Tornado crews here a couple of times this year along with other military aircraft as well.”

Just last weekend a Virgin jumbo jet was forced to divert into LF Wade International after a female passenger fell sick on the trans-Atlantic journey from London to Kingston in Jamaica.

Ambulance and fire crews were waiting for the aircraft when it touched down at just after 4pm on Sunday. The sick passenger and her 12-year-old old son, who was travelling with her, were then rushed to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Mr Adderley added: “There have been a couple of occasions this year when we have been called on to accommodate in-transit flights with sick passengers on board.

“Our location dictates that we are in an ideal position to assist flights transiting over the Atlantic who may experience problems and may need a place to touch down quickly.

“And with the amount of air traffic increasing all the time we are seeing more and more of these kind of stops.”

This year has also seen AirTran launch its service into Bermuda from Atlanta and Baltimore.

The inaugural flight from Baltimore arrived at LF Wade in April while the Atlanta Falcon’s cheerleaders were on island for the first flight to arrive in Bermuda from Atlanta in May.

Mr Adderley told the Sun: “We were very happy to bring in another airline.

“To attract AirTran and WestJet over the last couple of years is good for Bermuda.

“The challenge now is to keep these airlines coming back and protect our interest while looking at new ones to bring in and that’s where the Tourism and Hotel sectors play a vital role.

“I know a number of people would like to see another flight from Europe or anther competitive flight from the UK, and that might prove reasonable.

“But right now our focus is to fill the seats we have.”

2011 has also seen a new state-of-the-art GPS system launched at LF Wade to provide pilots with new approach options to the airport and help ensure planes can land more effectively.

This new technology puts the airport in line with a major overhaul of America’s aging and congested national airspace.

Last month Bermuda hosted the annual meeting of the Airports Council International for the first time.

The conference attracted hundreds of airport managers and their families from as far a field as China and Malaysia on to the island.

And Mr Adderley described the event as a ‘resounding success’.

He added: “We had around 500 people come in from across the world for the conference. It was a real honour for Bermuda to host such a huge event but also showed the importance of our position in the aviation world.”