George F.L. Charles Airport

The George F. L. Charles Airport (IATA code: SLU, ICAO code: TLPC) is located in Castries, the capital of Saint Lucia. Originally it was called Vigie Airport but since August 4, 1997 it changed its name to the current one in honor of George Frederick Lawrence Charles, who was the country's first Minister of Education and Social Affairs. Since the country has two airports, George F. L. Charles specializes in regional flights while to the south, Hewanorra handles transatlantic or continental flights.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Air Antilles	Fort-de-France, Pointe-à-Pitre Airport
Air Caraïbes	Pointe-à-Pitre Airport, Fort-de-France
Air Sunshine	Dominica
Caribbean Airlines	Port of Spain
LIAT	Antigua, Barbados, Port of Spain

Service

The airport had previously scheduled passenger jet service flown by Caribair (Puerto Rico) which in 1968 operated McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 aircraft daily with non-stop flights to Antigua and Barbados with direct jet service to Puerto Spain, Trinidad, St. Maarten, San Juan, St. Croix and St. Thomas. Another earlier jet operator was BWIA West Indies Airways (doing business as BWIA International at the time) which in 1996 operated McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft between Castries and Miami twice a week and also twice a week between the airport and New York John F. Kennedy Airport With these two direct flights, no change of plane makes an intermediate stop in Antigua, as well as MD-80 service several days a week non-stop to Barbados with these flights then continuing to Port Spain.

Accidents and incidents

On November 8, 2015, a Beechcraft Model 99, registration N7994H, veered off the runway into a grassy area at George F. L. Charles Airport after the aircraft's right landing gear malfunctioned. The aircraft had only one crew member, who was not injured. Following the incident, Hummingbird Air suspended all operations, and the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority launched an investigation.