<h2 class="blog-hed2 pb-lg-4 pb-3 text-lg-center">History of Douglas&ndash;Charles Airport</h2>
<p class="blog-para">The Melville Hall area was chosen as the site for Dominica's main airport in 1944 because it was the only place on the island with extensive flat land. It was only after the completion of the Cross-Country Roadway connection from Belles to Marigot in 1958 that work on the airport began.</p>
<p class="fs-6 lh-lg wow fadeInUp">The facility opened on November 22, 1961, and was first served by Douglas DC-3 Dakotas operated by BWIA.</p>
<p class="fs-6 lh-lg wow fadeInUp">In late 1979, three airlines were operating scheduled passenger service with turboprop aircraft into the airport, including Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) with Hawker Siddeley HS 748 flights nonstop from Antigua, Fort de France, Pointe a Pitre, and St. Lucia, as well as direct, no change of plane HS 748 flights from Barbados, Grenada, Port of Spain, and St. Vincent; Air Martinique with nonstop Fokker F27 service from Fort de France; and Air Guadeloupe with nonstop de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter service from Pointe a Pitre and St.</p>
<h2 class="blog-hed2 pb-lg-4 pb-3">Historical jetliner service</h2>
<p class="fs-6 lh-lg wow fadeInUp">According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), two airlines were operating scheduled passenger jet service into the Melville Hall Airport in the spring of 1995: Carib Express with nonstop British Aerospace BAe 146-100 jet flights from Barbados, St. Kitts, and St. Lucia, and Liberty Airlines with nonstop Boeing 727-200 jet service to St. Kitts and St. Lucia as well as direct, one stop 727 service to Fort Lauderdale. The OAG also lists scheduled passenger service at this same time flown into the airport by LIAT with de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 turboprops nonstop from Antigua, Fort de France, Pointe a Pitre, and St. Maarten, as well as direct, no change of plane Dash 8 flights from Anguilla, Port of Spain, St. Lucia, San Juan, PR, and Tortola.</p>
<h2 class="blog-hed2 pb-lg-4 pb-3">Airport expansion</h2>
<p class="fs-6 lh-lg wow fadeInUp">In 2006, an airport expansion and upgrade program began that entailed the expansion of the terminal building to include a new departure lounge,</p>
<p class="fs-6 lh-lg wow fadeInUp">customs and immigration section, and check-in area. The runway and apron were also extended, and new night landings and navigational aids were installed. These enhancements had an extended completion date of mid-2010.</p>
<p class="fs-6 lh-lg wow fadeInUp">The first-ever night landing was conducted on August 9, 2010 by Winair. Regular night landings at the airport began on September 20, 2010; the first flight, from LIAT, flew from V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua.</p>
<p class="fs-6 lh-lg wow fadeInUp"><strong>Renaming of the Airport:</strong> The airport was renamed from Melville Hall Airport to Douglas&ndash;Charles Airport on 27 October 2014 in honour of Prime Ministers Rosie Douglas and Pierre Charles.</p>
<p><img class="img-fluid p-lg-0 rounded w-100" title="History of Douglas&ndash;Charles Airport" src="../../main/img/airport/doug/28.webp" alt="History of Douglas&ndash;Charles Airport"></p>