Civil Aviation Says Airport Operations Continued Safely During Power Outage

The Department of Civil Aviation issued a release this morning, confirming our news reports over the weekend that air traffic control services at the Philip Goldson International Airport had continued without interruption during yesterday’s power outage.  It says the outage was recorded at nine fifty-two, following several fluctuations in Belize Electricity Limited’s power supply earlier that morning.  When the commercial supply went out, separate backup generators for the airport’s radar room and control tower started immediately. This kept the radar, radio communications and other systems used to guide aircraft fully operational.  The department says no arriving or departing flights were delayed or disrupted because of air traffic control operations.  Generators used by the Department of Civil Aviation and COCESNA Belize also remained on until BEL restored the regular electricity supply. Those generators support the systems used to monitor and coordinate flights within Belize and the wider region.  Some airlines may have experienced delays while checking in passengers because the outage affected parts of the terminal. Civil Aviation stressed, however, that those difficulties did not affect the movement of aircraft and that all flights were handled safely.