Email

Print

Today it was officially opened and Monica Bodden was there:..

Monica Bodden reporting
Inauguration ceremonies of the new San Pedro airport were held this afternoon on the island. Construction began in January of 2011 and after 20 months of work; the new airport will be providing both locals and tourists with a much safer and more efficient air navigation service.

More than 2.3 million dollars have been invested in the project with the Central American Cooperation for air navigation services being one of the main contributors.

Louis Ake - Regional Manager
"In honor of our commitment towards providing a safer and a more efficient air navigation service the Central American Cooperation for Air Navigation Services (COCESNA) is honored to be able to contribute towards the betterment of civil aviation, tourism and the economics of our region specifically Belize, our beautiful country. After 20 months of constant work we now can see that teh project is a reality. With the firm commitment and support from COCESNA and the constant cooperation from the Belize Airport Authority more than 2.3 million US dollars have been invested. This project is comprise of the following; construction of 2,175 meters of perimeter fencing, the rehabilitation and resurfacing of the runway and taxiway, the construction of a new airport parking apron, the installation of a runway and taxiway lights and the installation of a precision approach pathway indicator lighting system which will provide visual aid for landing aircrafts."

"The project was financed and managed by COCESNA with the cooperation of the Belize Airport Authority on behalf of the Government of Belize. The design/construction and the supervision was done by Belizean companies and the Department of Civil Aviation provided technical oversight."

"The construction and operation of this newly refurbish airport has generated direct and indirect benefits to the San Pedro Town through employment, services and supplies of construction materials. It will provide better efficient and operational safety conditions for the San Pedro Airport which will guarantee adequate flow of air traffic for local and international tourists that will visit this beautiful island especially a little bit after dark."

The newly upgraded and rehabilitated airport was renamed the John Greif the second airport. Grief started the airline industry in San Pedro.

Celi McCorkle - Wife of John Grief II
"I would like to take a little time to tell you a few facts about John Edward Grief II, the man we are honoring today. Jon was born on November 11, 1921 to John and May Grief of Paducah Kentucky in the USA. As a young man he joined the United States Airforce during World War 2 and became a pilot and instructor. After the war he continued his career in aviation. He loved flying and he would always say that he could fly the boxes those airplanes were shipped in. On July 1st, 1957 John Grief visited San Pedro for the first time landing in a sea plane in the back lagoon accompanied by a pilot that he had trained in Florida and who was working at time for the same company I was working for in Belize City."

"They walked through the sandy streets of San Pedro to deliver a letter to my mother that lived on the beach where the San Pedro Holiday Hotel is now located. When John saw the beautiful blue water of the Caribbean ocean and the white sandy beaches and the swaying coconut trees he fell in love instantly with San Pedro. He use to tell me that he landed in heaven. Since John second love after his family was flying we started lobbying government for an airstrip and through the efforts of the then Minister Louis Sylvester who also loved San Pedro, government decided to let us use the land where the airport is now located. So John and I with the help of a few San Pedranos with machetes and axes clear a short runway. John bought a super cup airplane that could carry the pilot and a passenger and started flying injured and critically ill San Pedranos and new born babies and anyone that needed to get to Belize City urgently. He did all of this free of charge, eventually government granted us an airline licensed and we started the Central American Transport Airline known then as Cat Airline. John bought a four seater cessna and so the airline industry in San Pedro was born and now we have Tropic Air with John Grief 111 and the helm and we won't be running out of John Griefs - there is a John Grief IV and there is a John Grief V."

Tourism Minister Manuel Heredia and Airports Authority Chairwoman Barbara Miller along with Minister Rene Montero and Minister Edmund Castro formally cut the ribbon. Heredia says today they have accomplished what they had set out to do 2 years ago.

The upgrade cost 3.7 million dollars.