The airspace disruption that affected flights into and out of Grantley Adams International Airport on Saturday was caused by a shortage of staff within the Air Navigation Services department, according to Minister of Tourism and International Transport Ian Gooding-Edghill.
In a statement, the minister said the temporary partial closure of the airspace serving Barbados affected inbound and outbound flights for approximately seven and a half hours.
Despite the disruption, one medivac flight was able to depart Barbados safely during the period.
Gooding-Edghill explained that the reopening of the airspace followed an urgent meeting involving the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, the Ministry of the Public Service and workers’ representatives from the Barbados Workers’ Union and the National Union of Public Workers.
He said the meeting addressed several outstanding issues affecting employees within the Air Navigation Services department.
It was agreed that a follow-up meeting will be held on March 11, 2026 to work towards an urgent resolution of those matters.
The airport has since resumed normal operations, with several inbound flights already arriving in Barbados.
According to the minister, afternoon flights from the United Kingdom, including two each from British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, along with air-to-sea flights, were accommodated. However, a number of other flights were affected.
Flights operated by American Airlines were cancelled, while a JetBlue flight from New York returned to John F. Kennedy International Airport. One Air Canada flight also returned to Canada, while a JetBlue flight from Boston was diverted to San Juan and is expected to arrive in Barbados later in the afternoon.
Officials said the management of the airport is working with the affected airlines to reschedule their flights.
The Ministry of Tourism and International Transport also thanked all parties involved for responding quickly to the situation and assisting in resolving the disruption.(GAIA)
Good day. I am a Canadian with my party a family of 8 booked to visit Barbados. I read with interest that the parties agreed to meet March 11 for what is deemed urgent. I am considering altering our visit as will many other visitors resulting from the closed airspace today. Urgent and March 11 are not congruent. Many visitors may vote with their wallets for future plans if this is not resolved immediately. March 11 is a distant occurrence for a meeting that ought to be resolved prior to March 11.
Good day. I am confused. Is the Tourism Minister responsible for Air Navigational Services? Why did the personnel shortage occur? Is there an interim agreement pending an urgent meeting? What is the complete story? The global impact and future of the Barbados economy seems to be omitted in the reporting. The cost to visitors and a second Canadian airline, WestJet, is not even mentioned. The brand trust of Barbados could be seriously & irrevocably affected. Yesterday’s action has cost millions of dollars. Where is the PM? Shutting out Americans that don’t issue visas is understandable. Canadians, Brits and Europeans were also affected enormously.