Jamaica city airports earn US$75m in nine months, travel recovery slow
Published:Sunday | November 21, 2021 | 12:08 AM
The major international airports in Jamaica earned US$75 million, the equivalent of over $11 billion, in combined revenue over the first nine months of this year.
But while their performance was better than the peak pandemic year, the inflows for the busiest airport, Sangster International in Montego Bay, fell 70 per cent short of pre-pandemic levels.
The reduced number of flights and travel restrictions arising from the pandemic led to a near total fallout in the travel market.
Revenue generated by Sangster International totalled US$52.3 million over the period January to September 2021; Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston earned US$22.7 million, according to information released by Pacific Airport Group, GAP, which owns the airport under concession.
Norman Manley’s revenues were also up double digit over 2020 but the comparative 2019 figures were not captured in the GAP report, as the Mexican company only took over the Kingston airport in October 2019.
The earnings and traffic numbers give a glimpse into whether arrivals are recovering for the tourism-dependent Jamaica, but also gives a sense of the improving health of GAP, which also operates 12 other airports in Mexico.
The company conducted a stress test in the September quarter concluding that things are improving and no airports are likely to suffer write downs from expected reduced usefulness.
“In this evaluation, the company reviewed financial results for the short, medium, and long term, concluding that a significant deterioration of the company’s assets is not expected. As such, the company does not foresee a business interruption or closing operations at any of its airports,” GAP said in its newly released financial report.
At Sangster International, operated through MBJ Airport Limited, total revenue equated to 1.06 billion pesos or US$52.3 million over nine months, up from 945.2 million pesos in 2020 but lower than 1.7 billion pesos in 2019. The largest rise in 2021 revenue came from rental shops, food and beverage and other non-aeronautical services up 24 per cent to 317.67 million pesos or US$15.6 million. Aeronautical revenues were up 17.3 per cent to 691 million pesos or US$34 million. The company also earned funds from other concession assets at 56 million pesos or US$2.8 million.
In Kingston, Norman Manley generated nine-month revenue of 463 million pesos or US$22.7 million, up 24 per cent from 375 million pesos in 2020.
The airports in Jamaica are dependent on international travel with very small amounts of domestic service. The result is that local airports are down at a greater level than Mexican airports, which also see heavy tourism business but have a more vibrant domestic travel market.
Revenues across the group were down by 50 per cent at 5.3 billion pesos in 2021 from 11.6 billion pesos in 2019.
Jamaica has three international airports, with the third being the state-controlled Ian Fleming Airport, an upgraded aerodrome that cannot handle large passenger jets.
In terms of passengers, at the tourist gateway at Sangster total passenger numbers were up by one-third year to date September, at 1.76 million passengers compared to 1.32 million in 2020, but down 50 per cent relative to 2019 pre-pandemic levels at 3.6 million.
In Kingston, the capital city, total passengers at Norman Manley International increased by 15 per cent to 567,700, compared to 495,700 in 2020.
Combining the total passengers at both international airports over nine months equates to 2.3 million for 2021 or 28 per cent higher than 1.81 million in 2020. This rise in passengers at the local airports, however, pales in comparison to the 58 per cent rise across the GAP’s total 14 airport network.