Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport
| Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | BVIAA | ||||||||||
| Serves |
 British Virgin Islands
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| Location | Beef Island | ||||||||||
| Hub for | BVIAirways | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 16 ft / 5 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 18°26′44″N 064°32′35″W / 18.44556°N 64.54306°WCoordinates: 18°26′44″N 064°32′35″W / 18.44556°N 64.54306°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
 EIS
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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Source: DAFIF
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Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport (IATA: EIS, ICAO: TUPJ), previously known as Beef Island Airport, is the main airport serving the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. The airport serves as the gateway to just about all of the islands within the BVI. Many travellers fly into Beef Island, with the intention of taking a ferry to the other smaller British Virgin Islands. The airport is located on Beef Island, a small island off the main island of Tortola, to which it is connected by the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.
The Terrance B. Lettsome airport underwent a major $55 million renovation in 2004. After dredging was completed the runway was expanded to allow larger planes to operate into the airfield. This renovation was the largest capital project ever undertaken in the territory at that time. However, the airport currently does not receive any scheduled airline passenger jet service. The largest aircraft serving Tortola is the 64 passenger seat ATR-72 turboprop aircraft operated by Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT). Recently, Seaborne Airlines began operating Saab 340 turboprop aircraft into the airport.
Some of the highlights of the renovation and expansion project include:
There is a $20 departure tax for anyone over the age of five years.
The airport houses the BVI Outstation of the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority.
In 2016 the Government announced an expansion of the airport to increase the runway size by 2,504 feet. This followed years of speculation and proposals; discussions about expansion and how to finance it were being undertaken in 2014. Although initial reports indicated that the United Kingdom had approved the necessary financial borrowing, later reports suggested that the UK's consent had been withheld in connection with concerns about the financial viability of the project. Under agreed financial protocols, external borrowing by the BVI Government needs to be approved by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
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