MONTEGO BAY, St James — In yet another indicator of the continued recovery of the tourism sector, Sangster International Airport (SIA) in Montego Bay has seen a 120 per cent jump in passenger traffic for the first half of this year, when compared to 2021.

There is also an increasing number of flights into the country, but both categories are still below the levels seen in 2019, often touted as one of the best years ever for the country’s number one earning industry.

“In terms of aeronautical statistics, we are now at 2.1 million passengers [up] to June 2022 — a 120 per cent increase compared to 2021. However, [this is a] 17 per cent reduction compared to 2019,” said CEO of MBJ Airports Ltd, which operates the SIA, Shane Munroe.

“Certainly, we are seeing the recovery in aircraft movement and recovery in passengers compared to 2021 but we are still yet to reach the levels of the 2019 year-to-date,” he added.

Munroe was speaking Monday during a virtual forum to provide an update on airport initiatives and major projects aimed at ensuring the SIA’s long-term economic recovery after the battering the tourism sector received in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19.

His numbers are in line with comments made earlier this month by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett that stopover arrivals in June had climbed to 224,000, surpassing the 222,000 recorded in June 2019.

The country’s sea and airports were closed to incoming passenger traffic on March 21, 2020 — just 11 days after Jamaica recorded its first imported case of COVID-19 on March 10. On July 15 the Government reopened the borders, on a phased basis, to incoming passenger traffic.

Since then there has been keen attention to the return of passenger flights, with announcements from the Ministry of Tourism and MBJ Airports Ltd each time a new carrier enters the market.

“We have had a very strong partnership with the Jamaica Tourist Board and Jamaica Vacations, and during the pandemic, fortunately for MBJ, we have seen new routes into the country — and that trend continues this year. We have Allegiant out of Cincinnati once weekly as of May 2022. Spirit also launched service from Philadelphia three times weekly as of May 22, and American Airlines out of Austin, one time weekly as of June 2022. And finally, Frontier, which has expanded rapidly in Montego Bay, launching their service from Tampa two times weekly as of June 22,” reported Munroe.

He said the United States routes dominate 79 per cent of the airport’s traffic. Canada accounts for 10 per cent, the United Kingdom makes up nine per cent, and Europe one per cent.

“The United States traffic has recovered very well; we are four per cent below 2019. Interestingly, the Canadian traffic is not yet where it used to be, 54 per cent below 2019. Europe as well is six per cent below 2019, and traffic from Great Britain or the UK is four per cent below. Of course, we know the existing challenges in Europe, which has prevented recovery of traffic to that region,” Munroe explained, alluding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He added that JFK in New York has now replaced Toronto, Canada as the top route from which passengers enter the island. The top carriers are American Airlines followed by Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, United Airlines, TUI Airways, Spirit Airlines and Air Canada.

Up to the first half of this year the SIA had seen 19,253 flights, an increase of 51 per cent, compared to last year, but a 14 per cent reduction when compared to 2019. The numbers are also down for cargo. There were 2,900 tonnes moved up to this June, 20 per cent less than in 2019. On Monday, Munro stressed the importance of Sangster International to Jamaica’s tourism industry.

“Sangster International Airport remains the gateway for tourism to Jamaica and a pearl of Montego Bay for infrastructure development. MBJ has invested over US$280 million in airport infrastructure — and even during the pandemic, while the country was on lockdown, MBJ continued to invest in Sangster International Airport, the benefits of which are being realised by passengers just in time as the recovery in the traffic occurs,” he said.

Investments executed during the pandemic include more than US$1.4 million on air conditioning chillers and the first phase of the solar PV project valued at more than US$1.1 million. Aircraft fire and response vehicles for safety cost more than US$1.6 million and there has been the completion of more than US$4 million in projects to upgrade the outbound baggage system, among other initiatives. Additionally, MBJ also embarked on the first phase of terminal expansion with the departures area project.

“Our focus for 2022 is to continue to lay the foundation for long-term economic recovery and stability, focusing on safety and security, financial performance, innovation and efficiency, human capital development, environmental and social responsibility, and passenger experience transformation,” stated Munroe.

“MBJ remains committed to ensuring the… Sangster International Airport is globally recognised as a leading tourist destination airport exceeding the expectations of our passengers while being uniquely Jamaican,” he added.

Pointing to the pandemic and efforts to battle and contain the virus, Minister of Transport and Mining Audley Shaw expressed satisfaction with the strong passenger arrivals.

“The Government of Jamaica has been working with all aviation stakeholders to ensure that Jamaica is open for tourists to come and enjoy the island and all we have to offer. In this regard, I am pleased with the positive trend in arriving traffic for 2022 and only expect greater numbers in the upcoming year. I applaud MBJ airports for its commitment to ensuring a safe, passenger-centric, sustainable and efficient airport operation time and time again,” he said during the forum.

He also commended the team for its expansion of the airport terminal into a modern, functional facility that will exceed expectations.

MBJ took over operations at SIA in 2003 and since 2008 it has been named the Caribbean’s leading airport, at the World Travel Awards, 14 consecutive times.