Map - Canouan Airport (Canouan Airport)

Canouan Airport is the airport located on the island of Canouan in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The airport serves the surrounding tourist areas and environs of the Grenadines and is a major destination during the Caribbean winter leisure season. Aside from facilitating regular passenger flights, the airport is also open for international corporate jet operations and charter flights. Canouan Airport was the main business aviation airport in St. Vincent and the Grenadines before the opening of Argyle International Airport. The terminal has a CIP (Commercially Important People) lounge and other facilities for international passengers and a domestic hub for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It is the second largest airport in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, after Argyle International Airport. The airport often served as the alternate airport for E.T. Joshua Airport, now a decommissioned airport in St. Vincent and other Grenadines airports.

Since the longest runway in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, at 5875 ft, was located at Canouan Airport, it was the airport used to receive illegal immigrants deported from the United States by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Air Operations-detainee removal flights, prior to the opening of AIA.

The airport is built in traditional Grenadines style with an open-air terminal with roof covered in cane palm fronds, its wooden walls and columns made of eucalyptus logs. The terminal architecture is based on the Native indigenous people of the Caribbean Tainos and Arawak structures, giving passengers a paradise feeling. The terminal has no airbridges, walk-boarding is used on all stands and mobile stairways or the aircraft's own airstairs are used for embarking and disembarking passengers.

In the 2000s, an extensive modernization of the airport began. A land reclamation project and runway extension were completed at the end of March 2008. Overall runway length increased from 3,455 to 5,875 ft (1,053 to 1,791 m). This extension of the runway makes the airport accessible by a larger number of aircraft and can now accommodate jets such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 carrying over one hundred and twenty passengers from Europe, North and South America. Before the runway extension, the ATR 72 of American Eagle (Executive Airlines) was the largest aircraft to serve the airport. In 2010 American Eagle ended daily flights from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Canouan. In addition to the runway extension, the control tower was raised some 3 m and the arrivals terminal was also extended to accommodate the increasing aviation services and visitors to the island. Airport apron expansion and the further development of air navigational systems were completed in 2011. It is one of only two airports in St. Vincent and the Grenadines large enough to handle large airliners. This airport was developed to meet international standards.

Canouan Airport is a small but bustling one that plays an important role in the growing economy of Canouan. Luxury tourism and real-estate contribute significantly to the island's economy and Canouan is popular with private jet travelers around the world. It is the home of some smaller general aviation businesses, including Canouan Aviation Services which operates from the general aviation area on the south-western side of the runway. Connection is maintained from the airport for several smaller airports in the Grenadines. Its size and location makes it the most important airport in the Grenadines.

It is one of five airports in the multi-island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the others being Argyle International Airport in St. Vincent, J. F. Mitchell Airport in Bequia, Mustique Airport and Union Island Airport.

SVG Air, is a national airline of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, along with Mustique Airways. SVG Air and Mustique Airways have combined to form a SVG Air/Grenadine Air Alliance, operating 17 Aircraft, with bases in St. Vincent, Antigua and Grenada. Offering visitors and residents a wider choice of International Gateways in and out of St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

The history of the Airport extends back to the early 1980s, when the runway at the airport was an unpaved, sand and gravel airstrip. The current airport opened in May 2008 and replaced the earlier Canouan airport with the same name and IATA code. Canouan airport was initially constructed some 20 years ago to a standard of an earth runway strip. In 1987/88 the airport was upgraded by construction of a bituminous surface dressing with a length of 1,800 ft (548 m) and a width of 60 ft (18 m).

In the following years serious deterioration caused a reduction of aircraft movements from 8,000 in 1988 to 2,000 in 1991. Since the bulk of passenger transport to and from the island is channeled through the airport, the unsatisfactory conditions on the runway and in the terminal jeopardized the economic development of Canouan. In the early 90s programs have been launched to attract tourism and to improve the island's facilities. It goes without saying that the rehabilitation and upgrading of the island's airport is an investment of first priority to the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the future welfare of Canouan and the neighboring islands in the southern part of the country.

Based on the positive development of tourism, it was recognized in 2003 that upgrading of the runways for jet operations was essential. It was determined that land had to be reclaimed and the runway extended. In a first phase KOCKS CONSULT GMBH provided services for: