Persons travelling to and from Jamaica via the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) will no longer have to brave the elements as they board or disembark the airplanes, with the commissioning yesterday of four new passenger boarding bridges.

In addition to the new boarding bridges, the NMIA now has a new two-level passenger pier – which ensures that arriving and departing passengers are separated – and a spanking new aircraft rescue and firefighting truck. The truck has twice the capacity of the other two trucks in the employ of the airport fire station and is more technologically advanced. It can hold 3,000 gallons of water, 420 gallons of foam and 500 pounds of dry chemical. Its operations are controlled by a joystick.

Ludolph McLaughlin, the airport’s fire chief, told the Observer yesterday that the one-man operated truck maintains the fire unit’s manning power since it eliminates the need to use two trucks in the event of a serious incident.

The new facilities and equipment, which were commissioned into service by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, were acquired under phase 1A of the 20-year capital development programme for the NMIA. A total of US$60.9 million has so far been spent in this phase which started in 2004 and will end in 2009.

Addressing politicians, airport personnel and journalists gathered for the commissioning on the 114th anniversary of the birth of former premier and national hero after whom the airport was named – Norman Manley – Simpson Miller said it was a “big day” for the airport and for Jamaica.

“This airport has come a long way since 1941 when it first came into being as the Palisadoes airport.

“Today as we commission into service a new passenger pier, boarding bridges and an aircraft rescue and firefighting unit, we are celebrating major achievements in the development and modernisation of our nation’s gateways,” she said.

The prime minister said that the development of the airport was hinged on the country’s prospects for economic growth given that, among other things, earnings from stop-over visitors last year was roughly US$1.8 billion and that the airport provides employment for some 23,000 persons.

“Given today’s global market and the keenly competitive business environment, without a modern, efficient air and sea port system, we would be at a major disadvantage,” Simpson-Miller said.

Five more boarding bridges will be acquired by December this year, according to Simpson-Miller, which will mean that all nine gateways at the NMIA will be so equipped, ensuring comfort and convenience for travellers.

Minister of Housing, Transport, Water and Works, Robert Pickersgill, who was also present at yesterday’s commissioning service, called the airport expansion project his ‘baby’ which was beginning its foray into adolescence.

He listed some of the projects under Phase 1 that have so far been completed, including the new ticketing concourse, and the new cargo and logistics centre.

Other projects to be completed under Phase 1A, according to the minister, include the renovation of the terminal arrivals area, the expansion of the inbound and outbound immigration facilities, the expansion and re-development of the airport roadways and drainage systems, the introduction of the check-in software Common User Passenger Processing System (CUPPS) and the addition of 2,400 square metres of retail space.

The entire expansion and re-development programme is projected to cost a total of US$139 million over the 20 years. Of that figure, phase 1A accounts for US$98 million, while phases 1B (2010-2012) and 2 (2013-2023) will cost US$26 million and US$15 million, respectively.