JAMAICA is beginning to see results from its effort to rebalance airlift, with Sangster International Airport (SIA) in Montego Bay reporting notable gains from non-traditional markets, including South America, parts of Europe and the Caribbean.

It’s a departure from the usual North American heavy traffic mix, and for a tourism-dependent economy like Jamaica, a potentially meaningful shift.

Speaking at the annual SIA Forum on Wednesday, Shane Munroe, CEO of MBJ Airports Limited — the operator of Sangster International Airport — said Latin America’s (LATAM’s) direct service from Lima, Peru, is now one of the fastest-growing routes into Montego Bay.

“In terms of routes with the highest year-over-year growth, exciting news here is certainly the performance of LATAM out of Lima. We’re seeing exceptional growth in South America,” Munroe told the audience, which included key aviation stakeholders.

It’s a small base but signals new visitor potential from South America, where Jamaica has long had limited reach. A new Lisbon flight out of Portugal, launched in June, is another step toward building out a European network beyond the United Kingdom. And in a regional milestone, LIAT 2020 will restart direct service between Antigua and Montego Bay this month — reintroducing intra-Caribbean flights that had disappeared.

Still, North America continues to dominate, according to Munroe.

US routes account for 72 per cent of MBJ’s market share, with Canadian and UK markets contributing 16 and six per cent, respectively. American Airlines remains the top carrier, moving 22 per cent of all traffic into Montego Bay, followed by Delta at 15 per cent and JetBlue at 11 per cent.

In terms of volume, Toronto remains MBJ’s busiest route — just over 230,000 passengers so far this year — followed by major US hubs like Newark, JFK and Atlanta. Cities like Miami and Atlanta are showing year-over-year growth, boosted by added frequencies, while others such as Fort Lauderdale and Orlando have cooled.

Passenger traffic overall is trending upward, up 5.3 per cent year to date compared to 2024. That’s a notable improvement from January, when numbers were down 7.5 per cent year-over-year. But aircraft movements remain nine per cent below last year’s levels, a reflection of broader constraints including airline staffing issues, aircraft delivery delays, and inflation, Munroe said. MBJ’s cargo operations, which rely heavily on belly space in passenger aircraft, have also been affected.

“The recovery is uneven, but what’s encouraging is that we haven’t lost any routes,” he noted during the forum which marked 22 years of the company’s operation of Sangster. “The diversification we’re seeing now — South America, Europe, the Caribbean — is deliberate.”

Another celebratory additions to the route map for SIA is a domestic link between Kingston and Montego Bay, part of the new LIAT 2020 service launching on July 11. Munroe described the route as a “game-changer” and noted that it’s something “the Jamaican aviation industry has not seen for a very long time.”

“We’ve always talked about connectivity between the two cities, but this is the first time in years that we’re seeing a commercial scheduled service between Kingston and Montego Bay. That’s huge for mobility, for logistics, for trade — and not just for the tourism sector,” he said.

New US routes are also being tested. Service out of Hartford, Indianapolis and Durham, North Carolina, is gradually ramping up, even as major carriers hold on to their core markets. American, Delta, and JetBlue alone account for nearly half of all MBJ traffic.

Meanwhile, infrastructure is being expanded in tandem with these route shifts at SIA. MBJ has committed US$118 million for capital projects between 2026 and 2030, including expanded immigration and security halls, new inbound carousels, and the extension of the east concourse. A solar-powered canopy, redesigned arrival zones, and digital self-service kiosks are also in progress.

The expansion comes as Jamaica prepares for a surge in visitor numbers tied to over 10,000 hotel rooms now in the pipeline. But it also reflects the changing nature of air travel and the need to secure more resilient source markets amid rising competition and uncertain global conditions.

“This isn’t just about adding flights. It’s about building a network that can absorb shocks and give us a more stable base going forward,” Munroe said.