{"id":58206,"date":"2019-03-28T12:19:51","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T17:19:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/?p=58206"},"modified":"2019-03-28T12:43:42","modified_gmt":"2019-03-28T17:43:42","slug":"prince-charles-opens-peoples-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/2019\/03\/prince-charles-opens-peoples-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince opens ‘people’s airport’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cayman<\/a>

Prince Charles and Camilla, accompanied by Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell, greet residents of the Cayman Islands after their arrival<\/p><\/div>\n

(CNS): Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, officially opened what the deputy premier called the ‘people’s airport’ on Wednesday evening in front of a cheering crowd in a short but well orchestrated ceremony. The royal couple touched down at Grand Cayman’s Owen Roberts Internal Airport (ORIA) just before 4:00pm in the RAF Voyager, which brought them directly from their historic visit to Cuba on the last stop of their whirlwind regional tour. After the royals landed they were greeted by Cayman Islands Government leaders and an RCIPS guard of honour before being whisked to the front of the airport, where the short event began.<\/p>\n

Premier Alden McLaughlin welcomed the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, stating that their visit affirmed the “strong relationship” between the UK and Cayman, as he thanked them for agreeing to officially open the revamped airport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe improvements to our airport are to carry us through the next few decades as tourism numbers continue to soar,\u201d he said, adding that he hoped the royal couple would return home with fond memories of Cayman and its people. “On behalf of our people, welcome, welcome, welcome!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Cayman<\/a>

Plaque at ORIA commemorating the event (CLICK TO ENLARGE)<\/p><\/div>\n

Deputy Premier and Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell was clearly delighted that the heir to the throne had agreed to open what he said was truly “the people’s airport”, as it had been built from cash and not loans and was one hundred percent owned by the public.<\/p>\n

He said the pledge to provide the Cayman Islands with a world-class airport had been fulfilled and it signified Cayman’s progress, and the “bigger, better airport” was a “standard-bearer for the Caymankind brand”. Kirkconnell said that work would begin in the near future to lengthen the runway.<\/p>\n

Just before Charles and Camilla pulled off the red velvet cover to unveil the commemorative plaque outside the new departure terminal, Cayman Islands Airports Authority CEO Albert Anderson said the airport upgrade multiplied the capacity of the airport more than four times. He said ORIA had gone from a little wooden building in the 1950’s to this new complex facility designed to handle 2.7 million people a year.<\/p>\n

Thanking all those who had played a role in the work over the last three years, Anderson noted the challenges along the way, especially keeping the airport open throughout the project during a period of record-breaking arrival numbers, which he said was “nothing shore of a miracle”.<\/p>\n

While the royals have now officially opened the facility, the upgrade is not yet finished and the final price tag of the facility, estimated to be in excess of $70 million, has still not been revealed. Anderson said that even more would be done to improve the facility.<\/p>\n

\"Cayman<\/a>

Prince Charles chats to Premier Alden McLaughlin (left) and Governor Martyn Roper (right) at Government House (Photo by GIS, CLICK TO ENLARGE)<\/p><\/div>\n

After Anderson’s brief words about the project, the royal couple unveiled the plaque before meeting and greeting with the people who had come out to welcome them, including dozens of school children, and the duchess was given a balloon to mark the couple’s upcoming wedding anniversary next month. After the short event, the prince and the duchess were ferried away in the governor’s white Jaguar to Government House, where the Prince of Wales had a private meeting with Governor Martyn Roper and Premier Alden McLaughlin.<\/p>\n

The royals had a packed schedule ahead of them Thursday, with the prince\u00a0 heading to the Sister Islands and his wife attending various events<\/a> around George Town, before they are expected to meet up at Pedro Castle this evening for their final event.<\/p>\n

They are then heading back to Britain, where Her Majesty’s government is currently in political meltdown over Brexit<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(CNS): Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, officially opened what the deputy premier called the ‘people’s airport’ on Wednesday evening in front of a cheering crowd in a short but well orchestrated ceremony. The royal couple touched down at Grand Cayman’s Owen Roberts Internal Airport (ORIA) just before 4:00pm in the RAF Voyager, which brought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":58212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22],"tags":[956,2321,5,143,49,2320,2322,43],"class_list":["post-58206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-albert-anderson","tag-duchess-of-cornwall","tag-featured","tag-moses-kirkconnell","tag-owen-roberts-international-airport","tag-prince-charles","tag-royal-visit","tag-alden-mclaughlin"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Charles-and-Camilla.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58198,"url":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/2019\/03\/royal-couple-arrive\/","url_meta":{"origin":58206,"position":0},"title":"Royal couple arrive on last leg of tour","author":"Cayman News","date":"27\/03\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(CNS): Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, landed safely Wednesday afternoon at Grand Cayman's newly rebuilt Owen Roberts International Airport on the final stop of their Caribbean tour. The royal couple have a packed day tomorrow, when the Prince of Wales will travel to the Sister Islands for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Local News"","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/category\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cayman News Service","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Prince-Charles-and-Camilla-land-at-Owen-Roberts-Airport.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Prince-Charles-and-Camilla-land-at-Owen-Roberts-Airport.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Prince-Charles-and-Camilla-land-at-Owen-Roberts-Airport.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Prince-Charles-and-Camilla-land-at-Owen-Roberts-Airport.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45140,"url":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/2019\/02\/charles-camilla-visit-cayman\/","url_meta":{"origin":58206,"position":1},"title":"Charles and Camilla to visit Cayman","author":"Cayman News","date":"15\/02\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(CNS): The Cayman Islands is preparing for a major royal visit, as the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be arriving here at the end of next month. Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, will travel to Grand Cayman from Cuba, where the couple will be embarking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Local News"","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/category\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cayman News Service","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/The-Prince-of-Wales-and-Duchess-of-Cornwall-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":54582,"url":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/2019\/02\/holiday-royal-visit\/","url_meta":{"origin":58206,"position":2},"title":"Premier announces holiday for royal visit","author":"Cayman News","date":"21\/02\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(CNS): Premier Alden McLaughlin has declared that\u00a0Thursday, 28 March 2019, will be a public holiday in honor of the royal visit to the Cayman Islands by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla. Describing the anticipated arrival of the royal couple next month as a the most important highlight among many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Government Finance"","block_context":{"text":"Government Finance","link":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/category\/politics\/government-finance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cayman News Service","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Prince-Charles-and-his-wife-Camilla-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":58031,"url":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/2019\/03\/public-urged-welcome-royals\/","url_meta":{"origin":58206,"position":3},"title":"Public urged to come out and welcome royals","author":"Cayman News","date":"21\/03\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(CNS): Government officials have released the schedule for the planned visit by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, to the Cayman Islands next week as part of the couple's two-week Caribbean tour. The heir to the British throne and the Duchess of Cornwall will be in Cayman for a little\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Local News"","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/category\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cayman News Service","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Prince-Charles-and-the-Duchess-of-Cornwall.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":763,"url":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/2015\/01\/brac-cuba-flights-start-summer\/","url_meta":{"origin":58206,"position":4},"title":"US-Brac-Cuba flights to start this summer","author":"Cayman News","date":"30\/01\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"(CNS): The upgrades to the airport on Cayman Brac enables it to handle international flights and Cayman Airways is already in the process of securing the necessary certification to introduce new flights to and from the US and Holguin in Eastern Cuba, Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell told his constituents yesterday\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "development"","block_context":{"text":"development","link":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/category\/local-news\/development\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cayman News Service","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Baggage-screening-room-at-the-Charles-Kirkconnell-International-Airport.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":110378,"url":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/2022\/11\/ciaa-goes-back-on-the-road-seeking-public-views\/","url_meta":{"origin":58206,"position":5},"title":"CIAA goes back on the road seeking public views","author":"Cayman News","date":"16\/11\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Owen Roberts International Airport (photo by Lana Gilyun) (CNS): As the Cayman Islands Airports Authority continues working on its plans for all three of its facilities, it is holding another series of meetings next week on each of the three islands to discuss the development of Owen Roberts International Airport\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Business"","block_context":{"text":"Business","link":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/category\/business\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cayman News Service","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Cayman-Airways-ORIA-Lana-Gilyun.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Cayman-Airways-ORIA-Lana-Gilyun.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Cayman-Airways-ORIA-Lana-Gilyun.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58206"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58221,"href":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58206\/revisions\/58221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caymannewsservice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}