Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications, and Transport Daryl Vaz has provided a sweeping update on the nation’s post-Hurricane Melissa recovery efforts, confirming the restoration of normal operations across critical sectors, including a stable fuel supply at Petrojam, the successful facilitation of over 3,000 flights at the airports, and the reopening of key national transportation corridors.

Vaz said in regards to Petrojam, the country’s fuel supply remains stable and secure, with the Kingston industrial loading rack resuming operation within 48 hours of Hurricane Melissa.

The minister detailed that since October 30, more than 3,600 tankers have been loaded, along with over 60 tankers at the Montego Bay facility.

“The Montego Bay facility is now back to normal loading operations, which is good news, especially for the West, and our national fuel inventory remains within the internationally accepted comfort range of two to three weeks’ supply, and shipments continue to arrive following the completion of the refinery’s maintenance shutdown on November 30,” he said.

Airport Restoration

The Transport Minister expressed that all our airports managed by the Airport Authority have resumed operations, though the levels of impact differed significantly. “Sangsters International, as you know, sustained the most damage. Relief flights began operating there on October 30th, followed by commercial operations on November 1st.”

Minister Vaz expressed that full restoration is projected to continue into February to March 2026, in relation to the repairs, and by contrast, Norman Manley International and Ian Fleming and the domestic aerodromes experienced only minor damage and returned to full operations by October 30th.

“So far, between October 29th and December 2nd, Jamaica’s aviation sector staged a swift recovery, processing over 3,000 flights and recording a 26 per cent increase in activity within just two weeks. Relief operations have been especially strong, with 935 relief flights of 50 per cent, and more than 310 helicopter missions supporting evacuations, medical transport, and obviously supply drops.

“All major airports were restored to service within 24 to 48 hours, beating the 72-hour target. So far, we have processed 212 expedited relief authorisations and moved an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 metric tons of relief cargo. So for civil aviation, I can say we exceeded all recovery targets and remain a critical driver of national relief and recovery efforts,” Vaz said.

Seaports

To manage peak season cargo volumes and support ongoing Hurricane Melissa recovery efforts, Minister Vaz emphasised that the port community has implemented a series of extended operating hours across November and December 2025.

“The port community system is offering extended Saturday hours from November 15th to December 13th, while Kingston Wharves has lengthened its weekday gate operations to 6 pm through to December 23rd and opened its warehouses on November 29th, December 6th, 13th, and 20th, for additional dates,” Vaz said.

Telecommunications

As it relates to telecommunications providers, Minister Vaz expressed that both Digicel and Flow continue to show strong and sustained recovery.

“As of December 5th, Digicel had brought 749 of its 925 sites back online, representing 94 per cent restoration. About 81 per cent of the mobile network is now functioning, supported by a combination of commercial power generators, satellite technology, and wherever infrastructure was heavily damaged.

“On the fixed side, Digicel fibre network has shown robust recovery in many parishes, Kingston, St Catherine, and Manchester, with more challenging conditions in St Ann, Westmoreland, and St James. Companies continue to work to improve the service. Flow is advancing restoration, and is now at 86 per cent restored with 64 per cent of customers back online.

“Significant work is being completed on fibre repairs and network re-routing, and Flow continues to align its progress with JPS restoration, especially in the corridors Ocho Rios to Spanish Town, Falmouth to Montego Bay, and Mandeville to Maypen,” Vaz continued.

On the mobile side, 80 per cent of the Flow sites are back in service, allowing the network to carry 97 per cent of its pre-hurricane traffic.

“Temporary mobile units have been deployed in heavily impacted communities in Westmoreland and St James, while the technical teams continue to strengthen the inter-site communication,” Vaz said.