KINGSTON, Jamaica —Transport Minister Daryl Vaz says the country’s critical transport sectors and support systems have resumed operations following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

Addressing a recent post-Cabinet briefing at Jamaica House, he noted that all airports managed by the Airports Authority of Jamaica have returned to normal operations, although the levels of impact from the storm differed significantly.

He said that at Sangster International Airport in St James, which sustained the most damage from the hurricane,  relief flights began operating there on October 30 followed by commercial operations on November 1.

Full restoration work at Sangster is projected to continue into February to March 2026.

By contrast, Vaz highlighted that the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston, Ian Fleming International Airport in St Mary, and the domestic aerodromes, experienced only minor damage and returned to full operations by October 30.

“So far, between October 29 and December 2, Jamaica’s aviation sector staged a swift recovery, processing over 3,000 flights and recording a 26 per cent increase in activity within just two weeks,” he said.

The transport minister pointed out that relief operations have been especially strong, with 935 relief flights and more than 310 helicopter missions supporting evacuations, medical transport, and supply drops.

Said Vaz, “All major airports were restored to service within 24 to 48 hours, beating the 72-hour target. So far, we have processed 212 expedited relief authorisations and moved an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 metric tonnes of relief cargo. For civil aviation, I can say we exceeded all recovery targets and remain a critical driver of national relief and recovery efforts”.

Regarding the seaports, the port community offered extended Saturday hours from November 15 to December 13, with Kingston Wharves lengthening its weekday gate operations to 6:00 pm through to December 23, to manage peak season volumes and support hurricane relief shipments.

Kingston Wharves also opened its warehouses on November 29, December 6 and 13, and will offer services on December 20.

Turning to Petrojam, the minister said the country’s fuel supply remains stable and secure. He reported that since October 30, more than 3,600 tankers have been loaded at the Kingston facility along with over 60 tankers at the Montego Bay site, which is back to normal loading operations.

“This is good news, especially for the west, and our national fuel inventory remains within the internationally accepted comfort range of two to three weeks supply,” said Vaz.

He told the briefing that shipments continue to arrive following the completion of the refinery’s maintenance shutdown on November 30.

—JIS