(CNS): The installation of jetways was cited as a priority by passengers during the recent public consultations on the Cayman Islands Airports Authority’s $800 million 20-year masterplan, but they are not on the official priority list. The CIAA recently announced that it would be spending over $74 million on a private jet terminal, and extending the runway and upgrading air traffic control at the Owen Robert International Airport (ORIA). But there is no budget for sheltering regular passengers from the rain.

During a press conference last month, Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said jetways are a component of the CIAA’s bigger masterplan, but the authority was doing the projects it could afford first. He said a decision had been made to focus on the runway and the general aviation terminal, claiming that these two upgrades would increase revenue for the airport.

CIAA Senior Project Manager Roy Williams said that while jetways are included in the expansion plan for the existing terminal, this would need to go up another level before jetways could be installed. He explained that in the next redevelopment of the terminal, the current security problem of arriving and departing passengers mixing would be addressed by the additional level as well.

Airport users have criticised the lack of covered areas for arriving and departing passengers ever since the original modernisation plan, which was completed in 2019, was proposed. At every public meeting during the recent consultation, people spoke about the need for jetways at ORIA, where passengers currently rely on airport staff and large umbrellas if it’s raining when they arrive or depart.

Bryan said the government doesn’t have the budget to include them yet. Instead, a decision has been made to spend around $29 million on lengthening the runway, even though there are no commitments at this point from European or other long-haul airlines. The airport also plans to spend a whopping $42 million on a new general aviation terminal for private jets, plus a much smaller amount on upgrading air traffic control to meet international regulatory requirements.

Cabinet recently approved outline business cases for those projects as well as work to improve the runway and apron at the Charles Kirkconnell Airport on Cayman Brac, all of which will be paid for by a $20 increase in passenger fees.

Bryan said a longer runway would see larger aircraft landing here, attracting long-haul flights and more passengers. He also said that expanding the general aviation facility would see more private jets flying in, though he did not explain why building an entirely new terminal was necessary rather than a less costly upgrade.

The minister was nevertheless emphatic that revenue would increase, putting the airport in a financial position to pay for the other things in the plan, such as jetways and more airport parking — another popular demand.

Passenger numbers at Owen Roberts are expected to grow by around 1.9% every year, based on pre-COVID levels of around 500,000 annual passengers.

See the press conference in full on CIGTV and some draft details from the proposed plan for the airports below: