Grantley Adams International Airport marks significant milestone

The Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) has reached a significant milestone in its history.

Minister of Tourism Ian Gooding-Edghill reported on Saturday that the port of entry was fast becoming an international hub and statistics showed that by the end of the year, there will be a record number of visitors to pass through the airport.

“The Grantley Adams International Airport is projected to have 2.3 million passengers by the end of this calendar year. This is certainly up from the 2019 figure, which I’m advised was 2.29 million,” he said, stressing that the island was experiencing a boom in tourism.

The minister added that Saturday was one of the busiest days at the airport in its history.

He said 8 000 visitors travelled to Barbados in a single day. Of that figure, 2 200 were air to sea transfers while the other 5 800 were stay over visitors. 

“”The Grantley Adams International Airport has had one of its busiest days certainly in its history. I’ve been advised that there are 54 flights arriving today. We have 15 wide bodies, 15 narrow bodies and 24 regional flights coming into Grantley Adams International Airport… What this tells you is that the growth we are looking for and achieving speaks volumes.”

Chief executive officer of the airport Hadley Bourne said the airport was undergoing a number of initiatives to enhance the customer experience and they augured well for the increased arrivals. 

He added that the neighbouring Concorde experience was reopened for the past six weeks as well to take the load off the main terminal at the GAIA. 

Another significant development was the number of direct flights from the United States (US) to Barbados.

Statistics from January to September this year showed that there were 509 673 stayover arrivals and 176 614 were from the US alone, which made the US surpass the United Kingdom as the number one source market for Barbados for the first time since 1994. 

The minister said he was pleased that six American-based carriers flew into Barbados on Saturday as well. One of them was a re-inaugural flight from Delta airlines direct from the JFK New York airport. That flight, which landed around 2:30 p.m., brought a full capacity of visitors — 160. 

Photo by Sheria Brathwaite.

The passengers and crew of that flight received a warm welcome when they arrived. In a celebratory manner, the red carpet was rolled out and they were greeted with sweet steel pan music, traditional characters and a Bajan Santa Claus. 

During a media briefing at the airport, Gooding-Edghill said measures were being put in place to ensure tourists spent more money during their stay here. 

“We are also focusing on how we can encourage customers to spend more when they are in Barbados. We have a number of exciting programmes which at the appropriate time will be revealed to the country,” he added. 

US-AID general development director of the US Embassy Steven Fonderiest said he was pleased about the improved airlift connectivity between the two states.

Captain of the Delta flight Mark Nagel said he and his crew were happy to provide an important service to Barbados, adding that the trip went smoothly. (SZB)