by Brian Major
Last updated: 10:00 AM ET, Wed May 31, 2023
Cayman Islands government officials have approved a $91 million, large-scale airport redevelopment plan to lengthen the runway,
modernize the air traffic control system and build a new terminal facility at
Grand Cayman’s Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA).
The project will also undertake “runway and safety area
works” at Charles Kirkconnell International Airport on sister island Cayman
Brac, and revamp ORIA’s private aircraft facility, said Kenneth Bryan, the
Cayman Islands tourism minister.
Approved under the territory’s Airport Master Plan, the redevelopment
will “improve the safety, comfort and efficiency of [ORIA]” and Kirkconnell International
Airport, Bryan said, while also supporting tourism growth across the territory.
“The tourism industry is a major contributor to our
island’s economy and extending the runway will provide the ability to service
long- haul carriers,” Bryan said
at a May 30 media briefing. “Ultimately we'll be able to expand into new routes.”
New flight service will translate into “increased overnight
visitor spending, increased revenues for the Cayman Islands government and increased
opportunities for additional airlift in Grand Cayman,” Bryan said.
The initiatives will be funded through a new $5 airport
terminal fee and a $15 airport development fee. The fees will be included in
passenger ticket fares charged during the project work period, expected to extend
from 2024 to 2029.
The redevelopment will now proceed to the “next phases” of
the process, including “public consultation, environmental impact assessment
and procurement,” said Bryan.
Growth Pattern
The airport
redevelopment will deliver “significant economic benefits” to the destination,
Bryan said. He noted that other regional countries – and tourism competitors –
have launched major airport and infrastructure programs.
“Destinations such as Anguilla Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas,
Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands have
recognized the need for airport growth to increase their tourism sectors,” he said.
“They have either made or are in the process of making the
relevant investments and incentives to position themselves for the future
expansion of their tourism industry.”
“The [airport redevelopment] will deliver significant economic benefits to the Cayman Islands," says Kenneth Bryan, tourism minister. (Photo Credit: Brian Major)
He added, “With up to 25 percent of Cayman’s GDP derived
from tourism, managing capacity and capability and competitiveness of our
airports is a strategic imperative [we] cannot ignore.”
Bryan said an analysis of airports within the Caribbean
region shows that the Cayman Islands “passenger-related fees” would be “more in
line with destinations such as Jamaica and Bahamas. In other words,” he said, “we
would not be pricing ourselves outside the market.”
Flying Safely
Bryan said airport safety and modernization are top priorities
under the redevelopment. ORIA currently has no computerized air traffic
management surveillance systems, meaning “air traffic is being controlled
manually,” he said.
Bryan said safety issues at ORIA and Kirkconnell International
Airport “will be rectified” under the redevelopment.
“Managing air traffic in this way is not only outdated but [it]
reduces efficiencies and increases the level of safety risk,” he said.
“This particular project is going to open up many
opportunities for us to be able to increase our business development,” said
Rosa Harris, the Cayman Islands’ tourism director.
“Given that the
travelers’ first and last impression of the Cayman Islands is influenced by the
airport experience,” Harris said, “our islands require the general aviation
facility to be consistent with sophisticated luxury.”
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