Bishop and his government contended that the Point Salines airport was intended to make the island more accessible to European and North American tourists.

As a result, tourists bound for Grenada had to put up with the delays, expenses and perceived risks of changing to smaller planes flown by regional carriers.

The Grenadian government said they hoped their tourist trade would dramatically increase if direct flights from Europe and North America were possible.

The event that precipitated the U.S.-led invasion was not the construction of the airport, but, rather, a violent coup in which Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was killed.

[4] After the invasion, Point Salines International Airport was completed with $19 million in American assistance and landed its first commercial passenger plane on Oct. 28, 1984.