MONTEGO BAY, St James — Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Daryl Vaz wants to see more domestic flights and he has tasked the Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) with making it happen. AAJ CEO Audley Deidrick has accepted the assignment.

“I had the opportunity to meet with the board of AAJ earlier this morning and one of the things I said to them is that it’s very difficult for me to know that there is no intra-island domestic airline service in 2023,” the minister lamented.

He was speaking at a forum staged at the Sangster International Airport (SIA) in Montego Bay on Thursday as part of the airport’s 20th anniversary celebrations.

Vaz noted that while improvements have been made in other modes of travel, in particular ground transportation, it would be good to have other choices.

“I would love for the day where we would have that service as an option rather than having to depend solely on ground transportation between parishes,” he stated.

“When we speak about innovation, that is one of the things I’d like the board of AAJ and the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority to look into. Because it is well needed and any progressive, prosperous country must have intra-island domestic airline services,” he added.

Vaz touted the initiative as an investment opportunity in a country that is “open for business”.

The AAJ’s Deidrick told the Jamaica Observer that he intends to act on the minister’s directive.

“We’ll be taking that on board to go back to both invite participants and to provide the necessary encouragement to get them back into the system,” he said.

“Jamaica over the years has seen various elements of local air travel. I am in full support of the minister’s directive, and we have been directed to take this information forward,” he added.

He explained that in the past Jamaica had a very vibrant domestic flight service which included companies such as Air Jamaica Express and others that came after.

“But things have come and overtaken those things. One of them is the improvement in the highway system and the development of more efficient ground transportation like Knutsford Express,” Deidrick explained.

“We had one started up just before COVID, Jamair, and it was about to really take off, then came COVID and knocked it. When you are a new operator with market just developing, COVID will knock you out of the waters,” he added.

However, despite past challenges, Deidrick believes the conditions are now right for another attempt at building out the offering of domestic flights.

“The minister is right, those things can’t replace the efficiency and convenience that a well-oiled air connectivity system can provide,” Deidrick said.