Unperturbed by a downturn in visitor arrivals in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica's primary tourism gateway, serving over 70% of the island's international travellers, Sangster International Airport, opened its biannual airport forum with an account of what's being done to upgrade efficiency and improve experiences with the self-baggage drop immediately catching the eye.
CEO of MBJ Airports Limited Shane Monroe, “We are launching with American Airlines as one of our first partners in this experience. But this will allow passengers to not only check-in at the kiosk, self-service, rather than heading to a traditional counter, they can actually take their bags from the kiosk to the cell backdrop and that bag goes directly to screening.”
However, the introduction of new routes is a telltale sign that destination Jamaica remains as attractive as ever, according to Monroe.
He said, “We're also seeing encouraging growth from emerging and diversifying markets, Latin America has seen a robust growth of 43.9% while the European market is up 2.4%.
And this is important because it shows the value of market diversification. Panama generated the highest absolute growth adding nearly 14,000 passengers and we're also seeing strong contributions from our new direct service to Bogota.”
New origin markets are also being expanded with developments in the services arriving from alternate routes, also worth noting for those connected to tourism.
Monroe said, “Looking at new service to Montego Bay, we had the launch of Medellín service, operated by Wingo, that will be three times weekly from June 23.
It's a major step for us in terms of Latin America connectivity and this route is important for us for several reasons. It diversifies our source market, creates a stronger bridge between Jamaica and South America, and certainly supports business and cultural exchange. Also for the winter season, Porter Airlines will introduce new services from Toronto, Hamilton, and Ottawa.”
With visitors in the coming months and years set to benefit from a suite of airport initiatives and major projects intended to extend the hub's position as the region's airlift innovator.
“The check-in hall is important because it's customer-facing. So, where the departure experience begins. This project which is in its final stages and creates a better experience for passengers and staff. Another major infrastructure project uh that is well underway is the expansion of the security and immigration hall. Both of these areas that's the size of those areas will be doubled. We're also making a major expansion, and I would say an exciting one ,to the front of house – we call this the departures plaza and promenade project, but certainly, it's about transforming the front of the airport.
He said the majority of the passengers to Sangster International Airport are by bus. “So, we'll have a dedicated area for them. It will also have a dedicated area for passenger vehicles, a substantial development of a promenade area and a canopy that will stretch all the way from departures to arrivals. It's a significant development and one that certainly we believe will be iconic.”
Beyond that, there are a range of major initiatives currently in progress, including the 3-megawatt solar PV project.
“Energy resilience, certainly, is a strategic priority for our airports and certainly Hurricane Melissa reminded us that utilities cannot be taken for granted. We're adding 3-megawatt now. But by the end of the year when we would have restored other PV systems we will be at 6-megaatt installs solar PV.”
Minister of Energy Transport and Telecommunications Daryl Vaz spoke to the significance of that advancement.
“These efforts have recently received international recognition through the sanctions, international airports achievement of level three airport carbon accreditation under the airport's council international airport carbon accreditation program. This significant milestone reflects the airport's success not only in managing its own environmental footprint but also engaging airlines, ground handlers, concessioners, and other airport partners in a coordinated approach to reducing carbon emissions across the wider airport community. Together, we'll continue to build a modern, resilient, sustainable, and globally competitive aviation industry that serves the interests of all Jamaicans.”
Syndicated from CVM TV · originally published .
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