Argyle International Airport

Argyle International Airport
IATA: SVD ICAO: TVSA
Summary
Airport type	Public
Serves	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Location	Argyle
Coordinates	13°09′23″N 061°09′01″W / 13.15639°N 61.15028°W / 13.15639; -61.15028Coordinates: 13°09′23″N 061°09′01″W / 13.15639°N 61.15028°W / 13.15639; -61.15028
Map
Argyle International Airport Location in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 04/22 2,743.2 9,000 Asphalt
Source: General Specifications. Coordinates are approximate.

Argyle International Airport (IATA: SVD, ICAO: TVSA), is a newly constructed international airport in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The project broke ground in 2008, and the airport officially opened on February 14, 2017 after a delayed and controversial airport construction process. The airport welcomed a Dynamic Airways charter flight as its first ever international aircraft to touch down at Argyle International Airport. During the construction of the airport, the International Airport Development Company (IADC) faced numerous challenges and missed multiple forecasted dates which they had set to have the project completed.

Air Canada, Caribbean Airlines and LIAT Airlines currently provide regularly scheduled passenger services at Argyle International Airport.

Government sources had originally stated that the airport project would cost around US$240 million or 700 million East Caribbean dollars and would replace the existing E.T. Joshua Airport. Other sources cite a figure of one billion ($1,000,000,000) EC dollars as being nearer to the cost of the project. Some sources indicate that, when complete, the airport will have a passenger capacity nearly four times that of the current working facility, the E.T. Joshua Airport.

Attempts by the previous government led by Sir James F. Mitchell, Premier and Prime Minister of St.Vincent and the Grenadines for 19 years, (premier 1972-1974, prime minister 1984-2001) to lengthen the E.T. Joshua Airport runway were unsuccessful. Engineers had advised that the runway could have been extended by 2000 feet into the sea, as requested by American Eagle. At a projected cost of US $50 million, this would have allowed regional jets, with service as far as Miami and South America with up to 120 passengers, to safely fly in and out of E.T. Joshua Airport. According to Prime Minister Mitchell, his government invited tenders for the final design at Arnos Vale. He stated, "I turned over the contract documents for a successful tender by a Canadian company to my successor [Arnhim Ulric Eustace] to sign, but he decided to wait until the next election and cancelled the visit arranged for Kuwaiti officials". The original conceptual designs for the airport were developed by RCGA Architects-Interior Designers.