Castries District is one of 10 districts (formerly called quarters) of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia . According to the 2012 census, the population of the district was 80,573, having shown a slow but steady increase over the past ten years. The capital of Saint Lucia, the city of Castries , is located in this district. During the Saint Lucia Jazz Festival , the city of Castries plays host to several stages.
28-692: There are 123 second-order administrative divisions in the Castries District. The town of Castries is a port city. Shoppers flock to the city's dozens of stores and to Castries Market for fruits, vegetables and handicrafts. Sightseers admire murals painted by a local artist inside Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and relax in Derek Walcott Square, named for the St. Lucian Nobel Prize–winning poet. Atop Morne Fortune (Hill of Good Luck) – where
56-551: A commercial airport . There is a disused northeast–southwest runway north of the main east–west runway that was part of the military airfield. It is in poor condition, along with a few dispersal pads. The name of the airport is an Amerindian word meaning "(land of the) iguana ". BWIA West Indies Airways (BWIA) introduced Boeing 727-100 "Sunjet" service into the airport in 1965 flying a round trip routing of Port of Spain, Trinidad - Barbados - St. Lucia - San Juan, Puerto Rico - Kingston, Jamaica - Montego Bay - Miami once
84-491: A taxiway for cargo operations and access to hangars . One proposal is to move cargo operations to the north side of the airport, putting in all the requisite infrastructure as well as two stands for aircraft up to Boeing 747 freighter size. This project is hoped to be financed by the increased airport tax, which is now approximately XCD 290 (USD 107.40) for each passenger. The airport uses a single east–west runway, connected by two taxiways at its midsection, with turning bays at
112-471: A week from Atlanta , Baltimore , Boston , Chicago , Detroit , Miami , New York City and Pittsburgh via its Caribbean hub in San Juan, Puerto Rico . Also in 1976, according to its system timetable, BWIA International was operating nonstop Boeing 707 service into the airport from Port of Spain twice a week as well as weekly nonstop 707 flights from both Antigua and Barbados with connecting 707 flights twice
140-553: A week from New York City being operated via either Antigua or Barbados. British Airways and BWIA International were serving the airport with wide body jetliners in 1993 with British Airways operating Boeing 747-200 aircraft and BWIA operating Lockheed L-1011 Tristar series 500 aircraft. According to the OAG, BWIA International was operating nonstop service from Frankfurt , Germany and London Heathrow Airport as well as direct one stop service from Zürich , Switzerland while British Airways
168-498: A week with an Airbus A320 , while BWIA was operating direct McDonnell Douglas MD-80 flights three days a week from Miami via a stop at Antigua . By the next year, American was operating larger Boeing 767-300 wide body jetliners on its weekend nonstop service from New York JFK Airport in addition to daily direct wide body Airbus A300 service from New York JFK via an intermediate stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico, while British Airways
196-451: A week with these flights then operating continuing transatlantic service to either London Heathrow Airport , Frankfurt or Zürich while Air Canada was operating weekend nonstop service from Toronto with Airbus A320 and wide body Boeing 767-200 jets. Officials have proposed a new terminal building at Hewanorra to accommodate Saint Lucia's growing tourism industry. It is envisaged that the new terminal would be more than twice as large as
224-489: A week. By 1971, BWIA was operating Boeing 707 jet service on a round trip routing of Port of Spain - St. Lucia - Antigua - New York JFK Airport twice a week. The Official Airline Guide (OAG) lists three airlines operating jet service into the airport during the mid and late 1970s: British Airways , BWIA West Indies Airways (operating as BWIA International at this time), both flying Boeing 707 aircraft, and Eastern Airlines flying Boeing 727-100 aircraft. According to
252-558: Is already long enough to handle most commercial aircraft. However, its 45.72-metre (150.0 ft) width is insufficient to handle the Airbus A380, which requires 60.96 m (200.0 ft) from shoulder to shoulder and a length of at least 3,050 m (10,000 ft). There are also plans to exploit a disused concrete runway to the north of the airport, which was built by the American military during World War II and could be recommissioned as
280-420: Is carried out by Caribbean Dispatch Services. The country's smaller airport, George F. L. Charles Airport , is located in the capital city of Castries and handles inter-Caribbean passenger flights, which are currently operated with regional turboprop aircraft as well as with smaller prop aircraft. Hewanorra International Airport was originally named Beane Army Airfield and was used as a military airfield by
308-404: Is on a flood plain and is built on reclaimed land . It houses the seat of government and the head offices of many foreign and local businesses. The city is laid out in a grid pattern. Its sheltered harbour receives cargo vessels, ferries and cruise ships. It houses duty-free shopping facilities such as Point Seraphine and La Place Carenage. Castries is the birthplace of Arthur Lewis , winner of
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#1733085425622336-460: Is served by George F. L. Charles Airport . Passengers on longer flights arrive at Hewanorra International Airport , near Vieux-Fort . The drive between Hewanorra and Castries can take an hour and a half. Helicopter service between the airports shortens travel time. Ferries run between Castries and Fort-de-France , Martinique . Yachts may dock in Castries, though they must clear customs first. When
364-516: Is the larger of Saint Lucia's two airports and is managed by the Saint Lucia Air and Seaports Authority (SLASPA). It is on the southern cape of the island, about 53.4 km (33.2 mi) from the capital city, Castries . The airport is a Fire Category 9 facility that handles 700,000 passengers a year and can accommodate Boeing 747 , Airbus A330 , Airbus A340 , Boeing 777 and other long-range intercontinental jet aircraft. Aircraft maintenance
392-528: The House of Assembly of Saint Lucia : Castries, Saint Lucia Castries ( / k ə ˈ s t r iː z / ) is the capital and largest city of Saint Lucia , an island country in the Caribbean . The urban area has a population of approximately 20,000, while the eponymous district has a population of just under 70,000, as at May 2013. The city covers 80 km (31 sq mi). Castries
420-512: The Republic of China (Taiwan) (in Rodney Bay ), Dominican Republic Consulate, French Embassy, Italian Vice Consulate, Jamaican Consulate, Netherlands Consulate, Norwegian Consulate, Brazilian Embassy and Venezuelan Embassy. Hewanorra International Airport Hewanorra International Airport ( IATA : UVF , ICAO : TLPL ), located near Vieux Fort Quarter , Saint Lucia , in the Caribbean ,
448-528: The United States Army Air Forces ' Sixth Air Force during World War II . Beane Field was activated in early 1941 with a mission to defend Saint Lucia as well as the Caribbean region against an enemy attack. It was subsequently renamed Beane Air Force Base and was operated by the U.S. Air Force before being closed in 1949. The former military airbase was then refurbished and converted into
476-529: The 1979 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, as well as of Derek Walcott , winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize for Literature. In 1650, the fort auprès du Petit Cul-de-Sac et de la rivière du Carénage was founded by a group of 40 Frenchmen led by de Rousselan, when St. Lucia was purchased by Capt. du Parquet and Monsieur Houel from the French West India Company . The capital was moved to the south side of
504-464: The Canadian ocean liner RMS Lady Nelson , which was subsequently refloated in the harbour and taken to Canada to be converted to a hospital ship . Castries has been rebuilt many times, following major fires on 15 October 1805, 6 April 1813, and most notably on 19 June 1948. One of the major tourist areas in St. Lucia, Castries is a port of call for cruise ships . They dock at Pointe Seraphine, to
532-484: The French and English battled over control of the island – visitors take in panoramic vistas. Castries is home to some of the most popular resorts on island, including The BodyHoliday LeSport, Rendezvous Couples Resort, Windjammer Landing, Sandals Resorts, and more. The seat of the Castries District government is the town of Castries. The Castries District is divided into the following electoral constituencies represented in
560-733: The OAG, all three air carriers were operating jet flights into the airport from other islands in the Caribbean at this time with British Airways also flying nonstop and direct service into the airport from London Heathrow Airport . The Feb. 1, 1976 OAG lists weekly nonstop Boeing 707 flights operated by British Airways from both Barbados and Port of Spain with these flights originating in London and also lists flights operated by Eastern with Boeing 727-100 service nonstop from Fort-de-France , Pointe-à-Pitre and Port of Spain as well as direct, no change of plane 727 flights from San Juan and St. Croix with same day connecting Eastern service being offered four days
588-713: The capital city of Saint Lucia, Castries hosts the secretariat of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States . Castries also hosts the headquarters of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court . The mayor of Castries is Geraldine Lendor-Gabriel, who took office in September 2021. A number of international embassies and consulates keep their headquarters in Castries. They include the Organization of American States , British High Commission , Mexican Embassy, embassy of
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#1733085425622616-542: The current facility, equipped with 6 to 8 jet bridges and a proposed 13 parking positions, including one stand capable of handling the Airbus A380 . Currently, the airport has seven parking positions: two for wide-body aircraft, two behind those, and three for medium-sized aircraft such as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 757 . Under a master plan, the runway will also be widened. At 2,745 metres (9,000 ft), Hewanorra's runway
644-421: The customs area is full, yachts must anchor at the quarantine dock to wait; those that do not are fined. Afterward, yachts may anchor in front of Castries Town or Vigie Creek. Standard bus routes run from Castries to all outlying districts on the island. The buses are private (not subsidized by government) bearing green license plates with numbers that start with an M —for example, M456 . As well as being
672-473: The end for back-tracking. As a result of the trade winds that blow northeast across Saint Lucia, all aircraft usually arrive and depart in an easterly direction. This results in a typical flight path for arriving aircraft along the west coast of Saint Lucia, while departing flights usually fly along the east coast of the island. On relatively rare occasions, weather disturbances such as passing hurricanes or tropical systems may force planes to take off or land in
700-755: The harbor in 1769 by Gov. Baron de Micoud. In 1785, the village of Carénage was renamed Castries, after Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix, marquis de Castries , the French Minister of the Navy and Colonies . In 1835, the British built the western wharf in 1642 to facilitate the coal trade and the first steamship arrived in 1841, the RMS Solway . During World War II on 9 March 1942, the German U-161 sailed into Castries harbor at night and sank two allied ships, including
728-605: The north of the harbour. Landmarks include the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception , Derek Walcott Square (renamed from Columbus Square to honour the island's Nobel Prize-winning poet, Derek Walcott ), the City Library, the Government House, Castries Market , and Fort Charlotte, at the top of Morne Fortune (an 845-foot or 258 m hill). Beaches include Vigie Beach , Malabar Beach, Choc Beach, and La Toc Beach. Castries
756-412: Was operating direct one stop service from London Gatwick Airport at this time. In 1994, American Airlines was operating daily direct Boeing 727-200 service from Washington Dulles Airport via a stop at San Juan, Puerto Rico , as well operating nonstop Boeing 757-200 service on the weekends from New York Kennedy Airport . Leisure Air also operated a nonstop flight from New York JFK Airport once
784-532: Was operating nonstop Boeing 747-200 service from both Antigua and Barbados several days a week with these services originating at London Gatwick Airport . Also in 1995, BWIA was operating nonstop McDonnell Douglas MD-80 service from New York JFK Airport four days a week, as well as direct MD-80 flights four days a week from Miami via a stop in Antigua in addition to wide body Lockheed L-1011 series 500 service nonstop from Antigua, Barbados and Port of Spain several days
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