Virgin Gorda Airport is an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

Virgin Gorda Virgin Gorda () is the third-largest island (after Tortola and Anegada) and second-most populous of the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Geography Located at about 18 degrees, 48 minutes North, and 64 degrees, 30 minutes West, it covers an area o ...

in the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

, an

overseas territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

History

Historically, Virgin Gorda was served in the past by

American Eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

with this

code sharing In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

service being operated by

Executive Airlines Executive Airlines, Inc. was a Puerto Rican regional airline headquartered at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the main airport for the United States territory, near the capitol of San Juan. The airline was a ...

on behalf of

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

from San Juan (SJU). This regional air carrier became a wholly owned subsidiary of

and flew

CASA 212-200 The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by the Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). It is designed for use by both civil and military operators. The C-212 ...

twin turboprop aircraft into the airport. Sunaire flying as Eastern Express on behalf of

Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Ea ...

via a

agreement served Virgin Gorda as well, primarily with flights between the airport and San Juan as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands. This wholly owned subsidiary of

Metro Airlines Metro Airlines, originally Houston Metro Airlines, was a commuter airline that was originally headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States,. Metro subsequently moved its headquarters to north Texas. The airline had an operational base located ...

operated

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...

(short take-off and landing) turboprop aircraft. Other airlines which served Virgin Gorda with Twin Otter aircraft were Crown Air/

Dorado Wings Dorado Wings was a small commuter airline that operated from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Dorado Airport in the tourist center of Dorado, Puerto Rico. Dorado Wings was the only commercial operator at Do ...

and Virgin Island Airways with these commuter air carriers operating nonstop flights between the airport and San Juan.http://www.departedflights.com, Feb. 15, 1985 Official Airline Guide (OAG), San Juan flight schedules Before introducing service with larger Twin Otter aircraft, Dorado Wings operated smaller

Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...

aircraft into the airport. Another airline that served Virgin Gorda in the past was

Air BVI , hubs = , secondary_hubs = , focus_cities = , frequent_flyer = , lounge = , alliance = , subsidiaries = , fleet_size = 3 , destinations = , company_slogan = , parent ...

which was based in neighboring

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

. Air BVI operated eight-passenger seat

twin prop,

capable aircraft into the airport with nonstop flights to San Juan as well as to nearby Tortola According to the December 16, 1980 Air BVI timetable, "no reservation shuttle" service was being operated at the time between the Beef Island Airport on Tortola and Virgin Gorda and the one-way flight time between the two airports was a very short five minutes. Another airline which served Virgin Gorda with Britten-Norman Islander aircraft was

Vieques Air Link Vieques Air Link (VAL, IATA code:V4) is a small Puerto Rico-based airline that links Vieques with Culebra and mainland Puerto Rico. History Operations began during 1965, with owner Osvaldo "Val" Gonzalez-Duriex piloting a plane with three ...

while

Air Sunshine Air Sunshine is an airline based in the United States and in Puerto Rico. It operates scheduled service to and from San Juan and Vieques, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Anguilla, Dominica, Sint Maarten, Nevis, St. Kitts, Tortola and Virgin Gorda in ...

flew

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplane ...

twin prop aircraft into the airport with both commuter air carriers operating nonstop flights to San Juan in 1999. Air Sunshine continues to serve Virgin Gorda at the present time. Island Birds Air Charter, having served Virgin Gorda since the year 2000, currently operates on demand, non-scheduled charter service to the airport. The airport is owned and operated by the Government of the VI (UK). The government purchased the airport from Little Dix Bay Resort for $2.9 million in 2005. The runway at the airport remains an unpaved, sand and gravel airstrip. In January 2010 the airport was closed for major construction work. It reopened in December 2010 with limitations and restrictions put in place by the ASSI regulatory agency. It is currently restricted to a small handful of airlines that must be fully approved by both ASSI and the

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

to operate at the field.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

References

;Citations ;Bibliography
Virgin Gorda Airport on Air Sunshine
{{authority control Airports in the British Virgin Islands Virgin Gorda