Grantley Adams International Airport

Grantley Adams International Airport
BGITBPB

Grantley Adams International Airport

Bridgetown, Barbados · Latin America
Latin America America/Barbados IVCA 43.1
43direct destinations
25airlines
1runway
3,353 mLongest runway
1939opened

Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) (IATA: BGI, ICAO: TBPB) is an international airport at Seawell, Christ Church, Barbados, serving as the country's only port of entry by air. The airport is the only designated port of entry for persons arriving and departing by air in Barbados and operates as one of the major gateways to the Eastern Caribbean. It has direct service to destinations in the United States, Canada, Central America and Europe. In 2024, the airport was the eighth-busiest airport in the Caribbean region and the second-busiest airport in the Lesser Antilles after Queen Beatrix International Airport on Aruba. GAIA also remains an important air-link for cruise ship passengers departing and arriving at the Port of Bridgetown, and a base of operations for the Regional Security System (RSS), and the Regional (Caribbean) Police Training Centre. The airport's former name was Seawell Airport before being dedicated posthumously in honour of the first Premier of Barbados, Sir Grantley Herbert Adams (1898–1971) in 1976. The airport is in the Atlantic time zone (UTC?4:00) and is in World Area Code region No. 246 (by the US Department of Transportation). It was a hub for now-defunct Barbadian carriers Caribbean Airways (not to be confused with the currently-as of 2025-operating Caribbean Airlines) and REDjet, the home for the charter carrier West Indies Executive Air, and former home to the flight training school Coconut Airways.

Location

Mapa

13.075°N, 59.491°O · 52 m s. n. m. (169 ft)

General data

CountryBarbados
CityBridgetown
Coordinates13.075°N, 59.491°O
Elevation52 m s. n. m. (169 ft)
Time zoneAmerica/Barbados
Longest runway3,353 m
Opened1939
Direct destinations43

Runways · 1

09/27
Length3,353 m11,001 ft
Width46 m151 ft
SurfaceAsphalt
Lighted✓

Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.

Radio frequencies · 7

Tower

118.700ADAMS TWR

Ground

121.900ADAMS GND

ATIS (automatic information)

132.725

Approach

120.700121.200128.850ADAMS APP/DEP/D129.350ADAMS APP/DEP
Look for a live feed on LiveATC External site; not every airport has a feed.

Reference frequencies for enthusiasts, from OurAirports (community database, public domain), checked on Oct 16, 2026. They may be outdated or incomplete and do not replace the AIP or current charts: not for navigation. In Europe the published frequency may be an 8.33 kHz channel (e.g., 118.505 for 118.500). In MHz.

History

The first recorded flight in to Barbados was in 1929 at today's Rockley Golf Course. As far as air transportation at the site of present-day facility, then known as Seawell Airport, history goes back as far as September 1938 when a mail plane from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines landed on the site from Trinidad. During the 1960s the eastern flight-range just south-east of the airport became known as Paragon. This area became the initial base of a 'High Altitude Research Project' known as Project HARP. Project HARP was jointly sponsored by McGill University in Canada and the United States military. In mid-October 1983, the civilian international airport became the scene of intense military activity. Then Prime Minister Tom Adams, the son of the airport's eponym, offered use of the facility to the U.S. military as a forward staging and support area for the diverse American aircraft which were deployed from the mainland in Operation Urgent Fury. The airport also became a press center for more than 300 international journalist who had been dispatched by their organizations to report on the surprise multi-national intervention into the neighbouring island of Grenada. The younger Adams played a key leadership role in gathering support among English-speaking Caribbean nations for the operation to restore democracy and the rule of law on Grenada after an internal leadership dispute degraded into political assassination and civilian bloodshed. Also in 1983, the US-sponsored invasion of Grenada prompted the United States to form another agreement with Barbados. As part of the deal, the US expanded a part of the current airport infrastructure. This prepared Grantley Adams Airport to be used as a base. As part of the plan to maintain for lasting stability in Grenada, the United States assisted in the establishment of the Regional Security System (RSS) at the eastern Grantley Adams flight-range. The RSS was (and still is) a security unit focused on providing security for the Eastern Caribbean. Grantley Adams International Airport, as it is known today, handles most large aircraft including Boeing 747s. The airport was one of a handful of destinations where British Airways' Concorde aircraft made regularly scheduled flights (and got repairs). The flight time of Concorde from the United Kingdom to Barbados was less than 4 hours. The first Concorde visit to Barbados was in 1977 for the Queen's Silver Jubilee. During the 1980s, Concorde returned for commercial flights to Barbados and thereafter flew to Barbados during the busy winter season. On 17 October 2011, ZA006, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner arrived at BGI for testing. This was followed by a 24 October arrival of the Boeing 747-8 for further high humidity environment testing. Since Grantley Adams International Airport had become a relatively busy airport for such a small island and based on an expected increase in future air traffic the Government of Barbados commenced a US$100 million programme to revamp the airport's infrastructure. Phase I, which is now complete, saw an upgrading of the runways, taxiways, parking aprons, and approach lighting. This phase included the Government of Barbados acquiring private land adjacent to the landing strip to bring the airport into compliance with new international aviation regulations. Phase II (also complete) included adding a new arrivals terminal adjacent to the current building; moving arrivals from the older terminal, renovating the older terminal as a departures facility, and bringing the infrastructure into the new millennium. On 1 June 2007, the BBD$1.7 million Club Caribbean Executive Lounge and Business Centre was opened as an added amenity for business travelers. The centre contains 5,000 sq ft (460 m2) and is on the mezzanine level. The centre is meant to be used by special customers of several airlines at the terminal. The Phase III expansion had to wait until the completion of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Airlines operating here · 25

Airlines using it as a main base (hub)

Other airlines with direct routes

Airlines with current passenger routes from here, according to Wikipedia route tables cross-checked from both ends (October 2026).

Photo: CaribDigita · Public domain · view original

Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Cite

To cite this page in academic work, an article or Wikipedia, choose the style and copy the reference. The access date is today.

This page was last updated on October 15, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI). Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/BGI

MLA

“Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/BGI. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/BGI.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/BGI (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_bgi,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI)}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-15},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/BGI},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/BGI}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/BGI |title=Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}