Work underway to improve traffic flow and parking facilities at airport |05 June 2018

In a bid to improve traffic flow and increase parking facilities at the Seychelles International Airport (SIA), the airport authority has started its project to remodel its internal roads and parking arrangements.

This project, which is costing the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) some R2.9 million, is expected to reduce traffic congestion at the airport which has increased significantly with larger carrying passenger aircraft coming to the Seychelles.

The roundabout project was the initial phase of the remodelling road network at the airport, a development which was conducted by the Seychelles Land Transport Agency and sponsored by the SCAA at a cost of R5 million.

Now that the roundabout has been completed the first phase of the remodelling of the internal roads and parking arrangement has kicked off with works which include road and footpath diversion along the Skychef shop and access road towards the domestic terminal parking. This phase is expected to be completed in mid-June.

SCAA’s airport manager for terminal and landside operations, Eric Frost, has explained that the project will also help the airport authority to better manage its parking areas and to reduce instances where airport users find themselves unable to get a parking during peak hours.

Talking about the first phase of the project, he said SCAA had to close some slots of parking spaces facing the construction site of the domestic terminal. This includes four public parking slots, two parking slots for disabled people and six parking slots.

Mr Frost said the diversion work which is underway is to allow the construction of the drop off and pick up areas of the new domestic terminal which is to be completed at the beginning of the fourth quarter of this year.

He noted that the access road to and from the domestic terminal parking area and the main parking area are to remain open.

“This project is also aimed at managing the number of vehicles allowed to park in close vicinity to the airport terminal,” Mr Frost added.

This will be done by allocating alternative as well as additional parking spaces further away from the airport terminal for car hire operators, taxi operators and the general public.

Furthermore, the remodelling of the airport’s internal roads will complement the new parking arrangements to be implemented on the premises to allow smooth and safe flow of traffic between the parking areas, the terminal as well as the airport’s entrances and exits.

The other phases of this project include extension of the main parking area at the airport, remodelling of the domestic terminal parking area and re-arrangement of traffic flow at the international terminal and destination management companies’ bus staging area. A pay parking system is to be introduced after the remodelling has been completed.