Jamaica’s air trafiic and tourism activity are already close to full recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Audley Deidrick, President of the Airports Authority, the agency responsible for managing the country’s air terminals.
He said full recovery could be achieved next year, three years earlier than originally expected. «It is now safe to forecast that Jamaica’s aviation traffic will make full recovery to the 2019 pre-COVID level in 2023», Deidrick said as it was published in The Jamaica Gleaner.
On the other hand, he noted that airline activity in the Caribbean country had to face (as globally) the implementation of new sanitary restrictions and, especially, the consequences of the war in Ukraine during the first months of this year.
However, the trend began to reverse in April. In June, activity at Sangster International Airport (MBJ), which serves the city of Montego Bay, matched levels recorded in mid-2019. Three months later, it was 16% above the numbers reported before the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, activity at Norman Manley International Airport (KIN), which serves Kingston, Jamaica’s capital city, in September exceeded that recorded in the same month of 2019 by 2%.
«Based on the rapid recovery phase of our aviation traffic, supported by the growth in tourism, it is now anticipated that by the end of December 2022, our total airport traffic will recover to approximately 90% of the 2019 level», Deidrick said.
According to the global report released by Airports Council International (ACI) in October, Jamaica’s air traffic recovery is greater than that seen in other markets.
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