Description & Facts: Tucked away at the north-eastern end of the beautiful Leeward Islands chain in the Caribbean Sea are two islands which take their aviation infrastructure very seriously. St Christopher – now universally known as St Kitts – was named by that most famous of 15thcentury explorers, Christopher Columbus. Today, with its near neighbout Nevis, it is amongst the world’s most beautiful holiday destinations, combining idyllic beaches with a rich culture and friendly people. But for all their beauty and history, the islands’ government is in something of a dilemma regarding air travel, and tourism in general

Both islands have resisted the temptation to follow some of their neighbours in undertaking large-scale development and inviting mass tourism to generate a large influx of foreign cash. St Kitts and Nevis want infrastructure equal to the best – though not at the cost of losing what they pride most, their culture and heritage. As a result, this isn’t the cheapest holiday destination you could find, but generally speaking, the islands are a high-class destination in every sense. The authorities here even seek to attract the ‘environmentally conscious tourist’ – a clear sign that these are places that allow you to escape from the throng, true ’get away from it all’ destinations. In fact, tourism still ranks second to sugar production in terms of St Kitts’ earning power.

St Kitts, the perfect travel destination

Before an airport was even built at St Kitts, the legendary American aviator Charles Lindbergh flew his then stat-of-the-art aircraft over the island’s main harbor during his adventurous ‘round-America’ publicity tour of 1928. Several generations later, the aviation world has moved forward in leaps and bounds, but despite the island’s small size (68 sq miles / 176 km2), state-of-the-art equipment can still be found here.

Today’s airport, formerly known as Golden Rock, has been capable of handeling large jet traffic since the runway was extended to its current dimensions of 8,000ft (2,439m) in 1974. Lying approximately two miles (3km) from the island’s capital city of Basseterre, the airport was re-named after its first Premier, R L Bradshaw, in 1995, and is 100% government-owned. At present, traffic levels are not high enough to sustain a profitable operation, so government subsidies are necessary. However, with the steady increase in passenger services, that situation may change.

Facilities at the airport

The terminal building, opened in 1997, is designed to handle around 300 people per hour, though the management feels there is sufficient capacity for more, should it be required. The stated normal hours of operation are from 06.00 to 21.00 local time, although, in practice, the airport remains open late each evening to handle an American Eagle flight from San Juan. Peak traffic occurs between 1pm and 4pm as the ramp fills with commuter traffic from across the Leeward Islands chain.

At present, the airport has enough parking stands to simultaneously accommodate three Bombardier Das-8-size aircraft, two A330-size types and several executive aircraft as well as A340 types after new development enhancements in 2003 and 2004.

Read about Nevis airport!