KINGSTON, Jamaica — Government Senator Marlon Morgan has accused the Opposition of exploiting concerns over rising airfare to Jamaica, describing a recent statement from Opposition Spokesperson on Tourism Andrea Purkiss as an attempt to mislead the public.

Morgan, a member of the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Communications Taskforce, acknowledged that airfare between Jamaica and cities in the United States and elsewhere has increased but argued that the Government has limited influence over ticket prices because the airlines operating those routes are privately owned.

In a statement Wednesday, Morgan said the JLP considers Purkiss’ comments on airfare costs to be the latest attempt by the People’s National Party (PNP) to “mislead the Jamaican people and promote ignorance”.

“The Government of Jamaica does not own and operate a national airline; it really does not have leverage over the pricing of airfare by privately-owned and operated airlines. Given the considerable challenges facing the airlines themselves, they are evidently constrained in their ability to moderate prices and respond to lobbying on the part of any stakeholder,” he said.

Morgan added that the challenges currently facing the airline industry have also limited airlines’ ability to reduce fares or respond to lobbying from stakeholders.

He also took issue with Purkiss’ reference to a US$3,700 airfare from Fort Lauderdale to Jamaica, arguing that the figure was used to exaggerate the extent of the problem.

According to Morgan, fares on that and similar routes typically hover around US$600, despite the current increase in travel costs.

“Reasonable-minded Jamaicans readily sympathise with travellers who face generally higher airfare costs based on what is happening in the airline industry, but for the PNP spokesperson on tourism to be spreading ignorance and exploiting the prevailing situation in a bid to score political points suggests a new level of desperation, grandstanding and intellectual dishonesty,” he said.

He argued that several factors beyond the control of the Jamaican Government — and, in some cases, the airlines themselves — have contributed to higher travel costs. Among the factors he identified were the departure of Spirit Airlines from the Jamaican market, the ongoing US-Israel and Iran conflict in the Middle East and rising fuel costs.

Morgan also pointed to the impact of Hurricane Melissa on Jamaica’s tourism infrastructure.

“First of all, Hurricane Melissa damaged several hotels and villas across western Jamaica, thereby reducing quite significantly our stock of available rooms. That had the knock-on effect of forcing several airlines to make adjustments to service routes and/or rotations, which created conditions for price increases based on the sheer reduction in airlift to Jamaica,” he said.

Morgan maintained that despite the challenges facing the tourism sector, Jamaica continues to perform strongly. He said tourist arrivals so far this year are at 80 per cent of last year’s level, while the country’s available room stock is at approximately 70 per cent of its 2025 capacity as a result of the hurricane.

“As work continues to restore the sector to full capacity, it must be noted that Jamaica is pacing ahead of last year despite the capacity constraints imposed by Hurricane Melissa,” he said.