Reports of chaos that disrupted the operations at Jamaica’s Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) are being attributed to delayed power restoration following scheduled maintenance.
This was explained by the airport operator, PAC Kingston Airport Limited who also confirmed that power is now fully restored and flights are again being processed.
The cause of the chaos at NMIA
It is reported that the scheduled maintenance activities required a complete shutdown of the airport from 9 p.m. on Thursday, July 20 to 3 a.m. on Friday, July 21.
However, power was only fully restored at 6:10 a.m., surpassing the original timeframe.
In a statement today, the company said that the purpose of the scheduled maintenance was to address an issue detected within one of the airport’s primary switch gears, a key component of the power distribution system.
The intricate planning behind the scheduled maintenance and power shutdown
Such maintenance requires intricate planning due to the need for a comprehensive power shutdown, affecting everything from backup generators to flight information systems.
Coordination with various stakeholders, including airlines, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Jamaica Public Service Company, and specialist electrical engineers is also necessary.
In addition, the airport operator confirmed that the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority was appropriately notified and had no objections.
According to PAC Kingston, the power restoration delay affected a crucial piece of equipment that disrupted the electricity supply to various airport systems, consequently affecting flight information and passenger processing systems.
The operator dismissed claims of a systems failure at the airport.
Specific flight disruptions caused by delayed power restoration
The delay in power restoration disrupted flight operations on Friday morning. Notably:
JetBlue Flight B6 1359, which landed at 5:01 a.m., was held in the holding bay until 6:30 a.m. when systems were functional again.
There were delays in the check-in and departure times for the following flights:
- JetBlue B6 1260 to JFK
- JetBlue B6 2676 to FLL
- Delta DL1841 to ATL
- American AA1628 to MIA
- InterCaribbean JY251to PLS
- JetBlue B61060 to JFK
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