Travel

CZM Questions Safety of Third Fuel Farm at Cyril E. King Airport; Operator Points to Peak-Season Fuel Shortages

Concerns about the growing concentration of aviation fuel storage facilities along the coastline of Cyril E. King Airport dominated a recent public hearing before the St. Thomas Coastal Zone Management Committee, where regulators questioned whether another operation could increase environmental and aviation safety risks during hurricanes and other emergencies. The proposal by Hairoun Aviation Services, Inc., which operates as ExecuJet Flight Services, would establish a 76,000-gallon aviation fuel storage facility on approximately 6,357 square feet of airport property at Estate Lindbergh Bay. It would be the third fuel farm project proposed along the same stretch of coastline in five years, according to Coastal Zone Management Director Marlon Hibbert. Company representatives maintained that additional storage is necessary to meet demand from general aviation customers, particularly during the busy winter tourism season, when fuel supplies have sometimes been exhausted. Hairoun presid...