Dr. McDonald Thomas, an executive member of the Wesley Development Organization (WDO), reveals that the general idea people have about airports is limited to a runway and terminal. Thomas noted that an airport consists of more than planes and buildings, but a driver for economic growth and national development.
A former military aviation personnel, Thomas stated that he has 26 years work experience riding and fixing planes. Based on this, he noted that an international airport must be constructed with expansion in mind – but that the current proposed airport in Wesley has nowhere to expand to.
When you build an airport or you build an airstrip, you are not building it for today; you are building it with the mind of expansion. And when you look at the airport where that airport is proposed to be, there is hardly any room for expansion, so if you are thinking of expansion for a hangar to house airplanes in case there is an accident or an airplane needs repair, it has to be in a hangar not just sitting there in the open. You have to protect that aircraft until you can repair it and get it back to where it came from.
Dr. McDonald Thomas, executive member of the Wesley Development Organization
Beyond the need for a hangar, Thomas said the management must also think of a cargo holding area. According to him, they must also consider the need for a second runway and more taxiways if the airport turns out to become a primary hub for aircraft landing in the future. “So where are you going to expand to? The only avenue is up more into the village, and so you are going to destroy more of the village,” he said.
Meanwhile, Thomas made it clear that the focus of WDO goes beyond the agitation for the proposed airport, but that it covers community development and youths employment among other societal issues.
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