Can you tell me about the San Pedro airport and the runway there?


Aerial view of the runway at John Grief II airport in San Pedro, Belize

(Click image for a larger version)

TheJohn Grief II in San Pedro is pretty much downtown, with Maya Island Air andTropic Air having terminals there. Both terminals have been rebuilt in the last couple years (2012).

This year (2012) the San Pedro Airstrip is getting a 3.7 million dollar upgrade. Minister of State with responsibility for transport Hon. Edmund Castro says:

"San Pedro has the busiest airstrip in the entire region, not just in the country of Belize but it’s the actually busier than all the airstrips in Guatemala and neighboring Honduras and so on. So it’s very important that we upgrade this airstrip in San Pedro and bring it up to world class standards."

"Basically what we are doing is moving away from the chip and seal or chip and tar situation for the airstrips. We are using the hot mix. The natural transportation of materials out to San Pedro is very costly because everything have to be truck in barge and then pick up from the barge to the plant. So it’s a little bit more costly but nevertheless that’s the standard now that we are trying to use on all the airstrips in the country because it will lasts longer."

According to Johnny Grief, pilot for Tropic Air, the latest runway extension is 60 feet wide by 2050 feet long. A temporary dirt strip has been made on the west side of the old airstrip, allowing planes to taxi to the new area for takeoff or return to the airline terminals after landing on the new section of airstrip.

The total runway length is 3500 feet with a 1500 feet overrun on 06( runway heading) and 500 feet overrun on 24.There is also a runway on the northern end of the island used by the Nova Shrimp Company and others, 2000 ft, long, however authorization is required from civil aviation prior to landing.

Private jets are not allowed to land in San Pedro. Jets are not neighborhood friendly.

Runway surface is not rated for more than 12,500 lb’s.
No parking.
No blast fences for acft turnaround.

CLICK HERE for more information on the resurfacing and recent work.

 

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