Barbados Airport: Is There Air Conditioning?

Grantley Adams International Airport is the only airport in Barbados. It is located in the Atlantic time zone and is in World Area Code region No. 246. The airport is 12.9km from the centre of the capital city, Bridgetown, in an area known as Seawell.

The airport has been described as having a horrible air conditioning system, with one person calling on the Barbados Workers Union to fix it. However, another source states that the airport has air conditioning in the check-in area.

The airport has been described as the worst airport [they] have ever been in, with complaints about rude staff and long queues. However, others have described the airport as nice, friendly, and efficient, with one person saying they have never had a problem.

The airport's former name was Seawell Airport

The airport's former name was Seewell Airport, before being dedicated posthumously in honour of the first Premier of Barbados, Sir Grantley Herbert Adams, in 1976. The airport is in the Atlantic time zone (UTC−4:00) and is in World Area Code region No. 246 (by the US Department of Transportation). It was a hub for now-defunct Barbadian carriers Caribbean Airways (not to be confused with the currently-operating Caribbean Airlines) and REDjet, the home for the charter carrier West Indies Executive Air, and the former home to the flight training school Coconut Airways.

The airport lies in the south-eastern portion of the parish of Christ Church, close to the southern tip of the island. The airport has easy access to the ABC Highway/highway 7 heading towards the capital and locations to the north and west coast.

The first recorded flight in to Barbados was in 1929 at today's Rockley Golf Course. As far as air transportation at the site of the present-day facility, then known as Seewell Airport, history goes back as far as September 1938 when a mail plane from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines landed on the site from Trinidad. At the time, there was merely a grassy strip as the runway. The strip was paved some time later and in 1949 the first terminal was built on the site, to replace a shed that was being used. This ushered in the facility being formally known as the Seawell Airport due to the plantation.

The airport is the only designated port of entry for persons arriving and departing by air in Barbados

The Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) is the only designated port of entry for persons arriving and departing by air in Barbados. It is located in the Atlantic time zone (UTC−4:00) and is in World Area Code region No. 246. The airport is 12.9 km (8.0 mi) from the centre of the capital city Bridgetown, in an area officially known as Seawell.

The airport has undergone a multi-phase US$100 million upgrade and expansion by the government, which added a new arrivals hall adjacent to the prior arrivals/departures terminals. The new arrivals terminal was built with five large baggage carousels, along with customs and immigration windows. The airport's former name was Seawell Airport before being dedicated posthumously in honour of the first Premier of Barbados, Sir Grantley Herbert Adams in 1976.

The airport has two terminal buildings designed to appear as one single continuous structure. The first structure and oldest is the current departures terminal. The new terminal currently has 23 ground-level gates. The airport has a single two-mile asphalt paved runway: 09/27 measuring 11,017 by 148 feet (3,358 m × 45 m). The airport operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The airport is 12.9 km from the centre of the capital city Bridgetown

The airport is the main air transportation hub for the Eastern Caribbean and has direct service to destinations in the United States, Canada, Central America and Europe. It is one of the busiest airports in the Caribbean region and the third-busiest airport in the Lesser Antilles after Queen Beatrix International Airport on Aruba and Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport on Guadeloupe.

The airport has undergone a multi-phase US$100 million upgrade and expansion by the government, which added a new arrivals hall adjacent to the prior arrivals/departures terminals. The current infrastructure is supposed to meet the needs of Barbados until at least 2015. The phase III construction project, which is yet to be completed, will see changes made to the aeroplane parking configuration.

The airport has undergone a multi-phase $100 million upgrade and expansion by the government

The Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados has undergone a multi-phase $100 million upgrade and expansion by the government. The airport is the only designated port of entry for people arriving and departing by air in Barbados and is one of the major gateways to the Eastern Caribbean. The airport has direct service to destinations in the United States, Canada, Central America, and Europe.

The airport's upgrade and expansion were carried out in multiple phases. Phase I included upgrading the runways, taxiways, parking aprons, and approach lighting. This phase also involved the government acquiring private land adjacent to the landing strip to bring the airport into compliance with new international aviation regulations.

Phase II included adding a new arrivals terminal adjacent to the previous building, renovating the older terminal as a departures facility, and modernising the infrastructure.

The Phase III construction project is yet to be completed and will see changes made to the aeroplane parking configuration. The project will also add new airport terminal jetways, spacious departure lounges closer to the aeroplanes, and air bridges to make connections easier. The expanded duty-free shopping area and restaurants for travellers are also nearing completion.

The airport's arrivals facility was moved to a separate new 70,000-square-foot building adjacent to the previous structure

The new arrivals facility at Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados is a 70,000-square-foot building that was constructed adjacent to the previous structure as part of a multi-phase US$100 million upgrade and expansion project by the government. The new terminal has five large baggage carousels, along with customs and immigration windows. The arrivals facility was moved to the new building, allowing the departures area to occupy the previous shared structure. The new terminal currently has 23 ground-level gates.

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