Airline operator interCaribbean Airways is eyeing the construction of a US$25 million private air terminal at the Ian Fleming Airport, St Mary.

It forms part of expansion plans the airline is undertaking to position itself for an expected increase in passengers from the United States with the removal of the trade embargo with Cuba; and increased activities between Jamaica and the Chinese market.

“We’ve had conversations about if it is possible and if so what size infrastructure is necessary. Certainly the Jamaican Government is keen to develop the airport and its arrivals to support better traffic flow for Ocho Rios, but there are some runway limitations that don’t help us in terms of what we could offer to the market,” CEO of interCaribbean, Trevor Sadler, told the

Jamaica Observer during a familiarisation trip to Cuba last month.

In addition to the new construction, joining the interCaribbean fleet in October is a DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 300 aircraft with the registration VQ-TGW. The airline has first-hand experience with this type of aircraft, having formerly operated a Twin Otter as part of its fleet.

Following the rebranding to interCaribbean Airways in November 2013 from Air TurksandCaicos, the CEO noted that the move was consistent with plans to be seen as a commercial flight for the Caribbean rather than for a specific island.

Already, the company has invested more than US$2 million in residential flights from Kingston to Montego Bay and is now in discussions to capture untapped flight routes east and west of the Caribbean.

“We believe we can sustain two connections from Jamaica to the eastern and western end of the Caribbean. Part of that is making sure that the aircraft is suited to the route, in terms of certification for over-water operation which dictates how far from the shoreline you may be,” Sadler stated.

The new flight routes are expected to be operational by the end of the year.

The interCaribbean airline currently connects passengers to Turks & Caicos Providenciales, Grand Turk and South Caicos. It also provides connection to Nassau, Bahamas; Puerto Plata, Santiago and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cap Haitien and Port-au-Prince in Haiti, and Kingston and Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The planned routes include connections to Tortola of the British Virgin Islands, Santiago de Cuba and Samana of the Dominican Republic.

“It’s a matter of let’s say between two points. You can’t always make the demand, but with a certain number of frequencies from each point we can make it work. So we analyse the frequencies to certain destinations and then decide on whether or not to connect to those locations,” Sadler stated.

“We really do think we’ve got the right-sized aeroplane for the market opportunities. The aim is to have to find each layer of traveller; who are they, why are they coming to where they are; where is the beginning and end to their journey and is there more that we can do,” he continued.

According to Sadler, the renewal of trade ties between Cuba and the United States of America creates an opportunity for the airline from the anticipated three million visitors from the US over the next two years. Santiago de Cuba and Havana are two of the main areas visited by tourists to the Spanish-speaking country.

On Wednesday, the US marked the completion of the first year of restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba, expanding cooperation in areas such as the environment, transportation, agriculture, health and law enforcement.

Dominican Republic — now regarded as having the best tourist numbers within the Caribbean, has also seen an increase in its tourist numbers.

“China and Jamaica now have close working relationships and we expect that to continue, so we are working with AirChina to have connections from China to Jamaica,” Sadler told the

Sunday Finance.

As for domestic flights between Kingston and Montego Bay?

“Flights between Kingston and Montego Bay are the best we’ve seen in the last 15 years. We still think there is room for growth there. It keeps bubbling up in the right direction, so we are positive that it’s a route that can work, and we’ve invested substantially in it over the last two years to make it work. We believe that it is key to developing other routes opportunity in the Caribbean,” he said.