Airport operations faced delays by power outage

The Princess Juliana International Airport  (PJIA) experienced slight delays due to a country wide blackout. According to a press release by NV GEBE the root cause is yet to be determined. Electricity went out at least four times today- the busiest day at the airport. In some instances the power went for about 15-20 minutes one of the taxi dispatchers and a vending stall owner confirmed. 

There were 2500 inbound passengers and over 2000 outbound, leading to a total passenger movement of over 4500. The airport is still making use of a third of its terminal building. According to one immigration officer, passengers were cleared in the dark as they used flashlights from their phones and emergency lights to process their customs responsibilities. The luggages had to be pushes through manually since the luggage belt only operates with electricity.

"Taxis could not enter taxis could not exit" the taxi dispatcher stated. The power outage prevented the boom barrier from operating and it led to transportation being backed up. The boom had to be remove in order for traffic to flow effectively. 

GEBE will provide an update on the outage once more information is available. The airport was contacted for a statement however non was provided as yet. 

In recent weeks PJIA experienced delays due to increased arrivals which have been better than the airport's best case projections. The delays cannot only be attributed to the power outages considering other factors involved. However, several passengers and stakeholders expressed serious dissatisfaction with setbacks caused by the outages.