ST JAMES, Jamaica- At least one flight has been cancelled and six others diverted to the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston as a result of a temporary closure of the runway at the Sangster International Airport in St James Thursday morning.

READ: Reggae Girlz among passengers delayed due to runway closure at Sangster International Airport

“At least one flight I know of has been cancelled, a Frontier flight that was going to Atlanta. That flight is being cancelled,” Mark Hart, chairman of the Jamaica Airport Authority (AAJ) told OBSERVER ONLINE.

“At least six aircraft have been diverted so far from Montego Bay to Kingston. They were coming to Montego Bay but they couldn’t come here so they were diverted to Kingston. Some of them will not come to Montego Bay, they will just leave from Kingston. Some of them may opt to wait it out and come over to Montego Bay when it opens up,” he added

According to Hart, preliminary reports indicate that the temporary closure stems from an equipment issue that occurred during runway extension work which was being carried out overnight. The issue was not resolved on the runway in time for use Thursday morning.

Several passengers complained about the inconvenience caused by the temporary closure.

“I am going to Baltimore. My flight was supposed to leave at 12:20 pm. It was first delayed for an hour then they changed to another hour and then changed to 3:00 pm. However, we were standing in line for quite some time because nothing was not moving. So we asked what was going on and they said we should wait for a while,” a male passenger complained.

He added: “Then we got an announcement from a gentleman saying the runway was closed. They didn’t tell us why it was closed he just said it was closed.”

A female passenger chimed in:

“They have us waiting for so long before making an announcement. We have so many people, some in wheelchairs and all of that stuff. Inside this airport is so hot. I don’t know if these air conditions work, but trust me it is really hot,” she claimed.

Meanwhile, MBJ, operators of Sangster International apologised for the inconvenience.

“We are working to resolve the issue and will provide further updates. All departing passengers should check-in for flights as normal. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank you in advance for your patience and understanding,” the release stated.

-Horace Hines