Salt Cay Airport Explained

Salt Cay Airport
Iata:SLX
Icao:MBSY
Type:Public (Turks And Caicos domestic flights only) (scheduled & charter)
Operator:Turks and Caicos Civil Aviation Department
Location:Salt Cay, Turks Islands
Elevation-F:12
Coordinates:21.3333°N -83°W
Pushpin Map:Turks and Caicos Islands
Pushpin Label:MBSY
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Salt Cay
Metric-Rwy:Y
R1-Number:08/26
R1-Length-M:822
R1-Surface:Paved
Footnotes:Source: DAFIF SkyVector[1]

Salt Cay Airport is the public airport serving Salt Cay, the second largest of the Turks Islands in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The facility is also known as Leon Wilson Airport.

History

On 26 June 2017, Salt Cay Airport's Aerodrome Certificate expired, and the Turks & Caicos Islands Civil Aviation Authority chose not to renew it on the basis of safety concerns with the runway and other infrastructure. For example, the runway was still in need of resurfacing. As a result, Caicos Express Airways, the only airline serving Salt Cay Airport at the time, ended all its flights to the airport on 7 July.[2] [3] On 18 August 2017 the TCICAA lifted the restriction on Salt Cay airport.[4]

Salt Cay airport was closed again in late July 2019 for major upgrades, scheduled to last for 10 weeks, according to in The Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority.[5] The airport opening was delayed with upgrades plus repairs, and the facility reopened in October 2020.[6] At the same time, it was also renamed to 'Leon Wilson Airport' in honor of a parliamentarian from Salt Cay.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: MBSY: Salt Cay Airport . 31 December 2020 . SkyVector . 12 January 2021.
  2. News: Salt Cay, Turks & Caicos Islands closed to commercial ops. 10 July 2017. 17 July 2017. ch-aviation.
  3. News: Cronyism at play in Salt Cay aerodrome closure, ex-premier accuses. 17 July 2017. 17 July 2017. Isles, Delana. Turks and Caicos Weekly News.
  4. News: Salt Cay airport reopened. 18 August 2017. 3 July 2019. The Turks and Caicos Sun. The Turks and Caicos Sun.
  5. News: Salt Cay Airport to close for 10 weeks for major upgrades $4.5 million earmarked for repairs. 17 June 2019. 3 July 2019. Olivia Rose. Turks and Caicos Weekly News.
  6. Web site: Salt Cay Airport (SLX) . Visit Turks & Caicos Islands . n.d. . 12 January 2021.