Audley Deidrick, CEO of the Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ), has reported that despite recent setbacks, Jamaica’s aviation sector is expected to bounce back strongly, with a projected 7.7 million passengers by 2028.

“Jamaica’s aviation traffic is expected to rebound, driven by tourism traffic growth. Hence, a projection of 6.9 million passengers for 2025 is still being held, and we expect that by 2028 we should be at 7.7 million passengers,” Deidrick said.

Deidrick highlighted Jamaica’s strong post-COVID recovery in 2023, with 7 million passengers, exceeding the 6.5 million recorded in 2019. Sangster International Airport (SIA) alone posted 5.27 million passengers, an 11 per cent increase over 2019, while Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) saw a slight shortfall of 5 per cent.

But in 2024, a 2 per cent decline in total traffic was recorded, which Deidrick attributed to external factors ranging from geopolitical concerns to weather events.

“The year 2024 has seen a pause in traffic growth compared to 2023, with Jamaica’s total traffic for 2024 rounding off at 6.8 million passengers versus 7 million passengers for 2023.

While this downturn can be attributed mainly to exogenous factors such as negative travel advisories, the United States of America elections, which are our major travel partner market, and equipment issues with aircraft availability challenges in the airline industry, we should also factor in the impact of Hurricane Beryl in 2024,” he continued while speaking at the first 2025 SIA Airport Forum on Tuesday (July).

As of May 2025, the decline has continued, with Sangster International Airport (SIA) dropping 6 per cent, though NMIA is trending upward, recording a growth of 9 per cent, Deidrick said.

The Ian Flemmings International Airport (IFIA), Jamaica’s third international airport, has shown early promise. Since American Airlines began commercial service in 2024, traffic has steadily grown.

“Ian Fleming International Airport welcomed American Airlines in February 2024 as its first scheduled commercial carrier from the United States with twice weekly service. As of December 2024, American Airlines increased its twice-weekly service to daily service into IFIA.

Corporate Social Responsibility of the AAJ

Deidrick also outlined AAJ’s community and corporate social responsibility initiatives. These include road beautification, student job placements, and a scholarship programme for aviation professionals.

“The AAJ continues to play its role as a grateful and responsible corporate citizen in the airport environment in order to support the trust of the airports and the wider travel and tourism industry,” he said. “The AAJ’s aviation scholarship programme for training of pilots and airport management personnel was launched in December 2024, with the award of 33 scholarships to the first two cohorts of applicants.”

The CEO also commended MBJ’s international partners for continuing investment during tough times.

“I must again commend Mexican company Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP) and Canadian company Vantage for staying the course with PAC Kingston Airport Limited (PACKAL) and MBJ through the difficult period of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic… and continuing the investments that they make in upgrading the facilities and systems at NMIA and SIA.”

Deidrick closed by urging stakeholders to collaborate as the country enters both the busy summer season and the hurricane period.

“You are called on to work together with the common goal of ensuring that SIA remains the leading Caribbean airport as rated by the World Travel Awards Program for 16 years in succession… As we are now entering the summer holiday period… and remembering that we are now into the hurricane season, the necessary planning and preparation need to be engaged both in our airports and nationally,” he said.