| After Emergency Landing, Priority Was To Clear Airspace |
| Tue, April 22, 2025 |
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We could not confirm that Belize's airspace was temporarily closed - and that is because the official authority - which is the Belize Civil Aviation Department - well, their Director told us he can't comment until the PM returns to the country. He left on Holy Thursday and is scheduled to return tomorrow - and apparently that update can't be given via telephone.
But, the unofficial spokesperson - seems to be Compol Chester and he said that it was a priority to make way for incoming air traffic:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"For me, my objective was to make sure that we clear the runway as quickly as possible so as not to hinder any of the international flights that were scheduled to arrive on that day. And so after the plane landed considering that the runway was not the crime scene, but rather the plane was the crime scene, I had directed that the plane be removed from the runway and taken to the apron? Whatever part of the airport that is for it to be processed by scenes of crime so within half an hour time the runway was clear and I don't think that any of the international flights had any delay in landing. I think they all arrived on time and they landed well and took off well. So I believe our efforts in terms of coordinating that was extremely good. Civil Aviation was on the ball as well Airport Authority in making sure that the runway was not only cleared but after the runway was cleared, I think there was some physical checks that needed to be made on the runway that it is safe for landing. That was also done so that the aircrafts that were supposed to come in on that day could have been notified that there was no delay in them coming into the country."
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