Hundreds of confused and frustrated passengers and staff were forced to wait for flights outside Nassau International Airport yesterday after being evacuated while officials closed down the international terminal to investigate the source of a foul odour that permeated the building.
As airport officials scrambled to find the source of the odour and concerned themselves with determining whether or not it was hazardous, hundreds of passengers saw their flights delayed and travel arrangements changed.
Lorraine Armbrister, Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, said Airport Authority closed down terminal two of the international section of Nassau International Airport (NIA) yesterday at 8am to conduct an investigation with officials from the Ministry of Works and the Bahamas Environment Science Technology (BEST) Commission.
It was determined that the odour originated from outside the terminal and somehow passed through the air-conditioning vent. The terminal was opened shortly after noon when it was decided that the odour was not hazardous.
One airport employee said she had never experienced anything like it in the 19 years she worked there.
“It was extremely strong.” she said, “It was throughout the entire building. First they said it may have been pesticides and it got into the vent, but it was overbearing.”
Some persons in the building at the time said the odour smelled like propane gas, However, officials from the fire department ruled out that possibility.
A well placed source inside the airport told The Tribune that complaints about a smell began as early as 5 o’clock the previous morning, but said that employees were skeptical about reports of a gas leak, as there are no propane lines in the international section of NIA.
Reginald Grant, Deputy General Manager of Aviation told The Tribune that while they were attempting to get everything back on track there was still no indication of was the cause of the odour.
Source: Rupert Missick, The Trbune
