Tobago departure lounge at Piarco back in use

THE Airports Authority has said after a "temporary gate reassessment," the domestic departure lounge at the Piarco International Airport is back up and running.

It was responding to questions sent by Newsday by e-mail.

Two weeks ago, there were reports that passengers going to Tobago were boarding planes via an international gate, rather than a domestic one.

Passengers were told this was because the scanner at the Tobago departure lounge was not working.

Responding to Newsday's questions a week later, the authority said the lounge in question was back in use from October 17.

"The authority wishes to affirm that all gates at the Piarco International Airport are available for use to facilitate domestic or international departures.

"As is customary with international airports, the reassignment of departure gates may become necessary to ensure the continued efficiency of flight operations and a seamless flow of passengers throughout our airport facilities."

It did not say whether the reason the lounge had been out of use was that a scanner was not working.