ST. CROIX — The Virgin Islands Port Authority has temporarily fixed a 25-year-old luggage belt in the departure area at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport that has repeatedly broken down while continuing to source major parts needed to make permanent repairs.
“It’s just a temporary fix,” Carlton Dowe, VIPA executive director, said. “Again, that belt has been problematic for quite some time, so we continue to do what we can to try to get it going.”
Keith Williams, a St. Croix resident who periodically travels and has experienced the broken luggage belt in the past, was happy to see it working.
“That’s a good thing,” he said.
Dowe said the luggage belt is not permanently repaired.
“We’re just glad that it’s working to some extent, but we still have quite a bit of work to do on it to try to make sure it’s more reliable,” he said.
WTJX reached out to Dowe Friday to inquire about the broken luggage belt, but he said the Port Authority has been trying to obtain replacement parts for months and could not give a definite date when the belt would be fixed. After WTJX published an article Monday detailing the frustration the broken belt has caused travelers, VIPA staff worked over night to get it in working order.
Tenisha Highsmith, who was traveling to her home in Ohio after visiting the island, spoke of the convenience of having a working belt for her checked luggage.
“I don’t have to worry about handling the bag a lot,” she said. “I’m happy it’s working.”
Jim Avalone, of Massachusetts, was also able to have his checked luggage placed on the belt now that it has been temporarily repaired.
“I thank them very much for that,” he said. “I like that convenience.”
Jim Lingo, who visits St. Croix annually from Iowa, also checked luggage that was placed on the working belt.
“It’s great for customers and great for the employees,” he said. “It saves all around.”
Dowe commended the work of VIPA’s maintenance staff for getting both luggage belts running that are in the departure area. He said they were troubleshooting the problem for a couple of days.
“Up until last night they were there with it, so it’s a work in progress,” he said.
Rohlsen airport has two luggage belts at the departure gate. One belt serves American Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Silver Airways/Seaborne Airlines, while the other serves Delta Air Lines and Cape Air.
“It’s primarily our maintenance people that did quite a bit of the work, and sometimes with a little guidance and some information from consultants we’re talking to,” he said.
Despite the functioning belts at this time, Dowe stressed that more repairs are needed to ensure they keep working. He said VIPA must find major parts to ensure a permanent fix.
“It’s a work in progress,” he said. “We want some more reliability in it.”
