MoBay air travel traffic plummets by three-quarters in November

Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay recorded its steepest traffic decline since the onset of the pandemic, with total passengers plunging 73.4 per cent in November, compared with the same month in 2024, according to figures released by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, GAP, which manages Jamaica’s two largest international airports.

The rout came a month after Jamaica experienced its worst storm in history, on October 28, decimating homes and businesses and causing damage to tourism properties, mainly at the western end of Jamaica and parts of central Jamaica.

In November, just 99,100 passengers passed through Sangster International, compared with 373,300 a year earlier.

GAP management sees tourism rebound as key to restoring normality in Montego Bay.

“The pace at which tourism infrastructure, particularly hotel capacity, is restored will be a key factor for the normalisation of economic activity and air traffic at the destination,” GAP said, adding that it would continue to provide timely updates on passenger traffic trends and the recovery of hotel capacity.

Some hotels are aiming to reopen for the winter season, which kicks off next week, while others have indicated they won’t reopen until next year.

Sangster is managed through MBJ Airports Limited, which declined to comment on the new data ahead of its scheduled forum today, Wednesday. GAP’s other airport, Norman Manley International, is managed through PAC Kingston Airports Limited. Jamaica also operates a third but much smaller international airport, which is managed by the Airports Authority of Jamaica.

The collapse in passenger numbers underscores the ongoing disruption from Hurricane Melissa, which struck on October 28 and damaged a significant portion of the island’s tourism infrastructure.

In Kingston, Norman Manley posted a 2.5 per cent increase in traffic in November, compared with year-earlier levels. This aligns with management’s revised projections for an annual increase in traffic of four per cent by year end.

Montego Bay’s performance, however, highlighted its vulnerability as Jamaica’s primary tourist gateway. Sangster handles the bulk of international travel to Jamaica.

GAP noted that although air operations resumed at Montego Bay on October 31, “the destination’s hotel capacity remains approximately 70 per cent affected”, limiting demand. Across GAP’s wider portfolio encompassing 12 Mexican and two Jamaican airports, traffic rose 3.5 per cent in November, with Mexicali up 23 per cent and La Paz up 15.5 per cent.

Hurricane Melissa’s blow to air travel has been substantial, but Jamaica experienced even worse times during the pandemic, when there was a total shutdown of travel for a period. The pandemic began in March 2020, causing loss of life, livelihoods, and lockdowns. Consequently, in April 2020, travel traffic at Sangster fell by 99 per cent and at Norman Manley by 97 per cent, compared with year-earlier levels. That equated to 6,000 passenger movements at Sangster, compared with 425,000 a year earlier, and 3,700 at Norman Manley, compared with about 360,000 a year earlier.

Last week, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett expressed confidence in the mid-December relaunch of the destination.

Part of that optimism stems from new international flights scheduled for this winter and into 2026, according to MBJ Airports CEO Shane Munroe in a recent Gleaner article. The new services include Edelweiss from Zurich, WestJet’s weekly service from Quebec, Wingo from Bogotá, and Flair Airlines from Toronto.

Munroe added that Breeze Airways will expand Jamaica’s reach in the United States market in early 2026 with new gateways in Tampa and Raleigh, complementing earlier additions from Avelo, World2Fly, and LIAT 2020. Munroe also indicated that Jamaica has retained its full roster of 29 airlines and 48 international destinations.

steven.jackson@gleanerjm.com