SIMPSON BAY:--- The civil aviation certification that the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIAE) has is now being scrutinized. According to well placed sources at PJIAE, persons in top positions allegedly forged a certification which they have been using over the past years.
SMN News contacted the Department Head of Aviation and Martime Affairs of PJIAE Louis Halley who confirmed that the airport certification expired and he is in the process of recertification. Halley said the Government of St. Maarten is fully aware of the situation and recertification is a process. When asked how long ago the certification which is not registered at the Dutch Civil Aviation in Curacao expired, Halley said that happened before he was appointed. When asked how long ago he was appointed as head of his department he said since St. Maarten became a country in 2010. "I can tell you that PJIAE was certified by the former Netherlands Antilles and it expired and recertification is a process which I am busy with." SMN News learned that the two main inspectors of Dutch Civil Aviation (DCA) that had all the information on PJIAE perished in the earthquake in Haiti. Since then no records of PJIAE can be found. Another hindrance for PJIAE is that the Fire Department at PJIAE has unqualified firemen working for them and the Fire Department at PJIAE is not up to par. PJIAE cannot even say when was the last time they conducted a large scale drill to show that all safety equipment and its manpower are up to date.
SMN News learnt that the Princess Juliana International Airport did not fully pass its inspection given by the Fire Department when the new terminal building opened. According to information provided to SMN News, PJIAE terminal building had a number of flaws which had to be fixed over a period of time but one or two major things were not fixed up to the time this article was published.
Reliable information obtained from the Fire Department shows that the fire alarm system and the doors of PJIAE did not pass the inspection because the alarms and the doors are not coordinating. "When the fire alarms go off the doors are supposed to open and remain open but to date management of PJIAE has not regulated the problem even though they got a number of years to rectify each of the flaws they simply did not but they do what they see fit for the airport. St. Maarten has to learn to respect the rules and regulations for safety and security, everything should not be about money but it should be about people's safety, we are talking about an international airport where thousands of persons pass through every day. The former Director of the Fire Department Winston Solomon was a man who did not play with his job as Director of the Fire Department, he even brought in inspectors from the Netherlands who also confirmed his findings that the fire alarm system and the doors were not in compliance and gave the management of PJIAE time to fix the problem in order for them to pass that part of the inspection." Solomon could not be reached by telephone for a comment on the PJIAE saga.
Another development which is totally against safety regulations that the Fire Department is looking into is to ensure that no gas cylinders are in the departure lounge since that is not allowed. SMN News learnt that just recently the Fire Department conducted an inspection at PJIAE and after that inspection they found out that gas cylinders are now in the cafeterias in the departure lounge.
