Opposition questions Gov’t response to soaring airfares to Jamaica

Opposition Spokesperson on Tourism and Linkages, Andrea Purkiss has called on Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett to explain what is being done to stop the decline in visitor arrivals and the soaring cost of air travel to Jamaica.

“Somewhere in Fort Lauderdale this morning there is a Jamaican woman wondering if she can afford to bury her mother,” Purkiss said in a press release Tuesday. “Ninety minutes of flying, but she’s being asked to pay US$3,700. That is not a fare. That is a wall.”

Checks in mid-August showed American Airlines quoting US$3,744 return between Montego Bay and Miami, with JetBlue’s Fort Lauderdale flights repeatedly sold out, the Opposition said.

While noting that Jamaica Tourist Board data show that non-resident Jamaican arrivals rose 7.6 per cent in June, Purkiss warned this does not mean fares are affordable.

“Do not mistake our people’s love of country for evidence they can afford these prices. A Jamaican will borrow, beg, or empty savings to get home. That is not a market working. That is a captive people being charged whatever the traffic will bear.”

Compared to 2024, non-resident Jamaican arrivals are down 16.5 per cent, the Opposition said.

“Those are the grandmothers who didn’t come. The grandchildren who didn’t meet them. The empty chairs at nine-nights and christenings,” she said.

Sangster International handled 26.7 per cent fewer passengers in the first half of the year. Overall stopover arrivals fell 23.5 per cent to 1.13 million, with US arrivals down 27.9 per cent, the Opposition noted in the release.

The recent exit of major budget carrier Spirit Airlines along with shortage of available seats amid high summer demand have been cited as factors behind the soaring prices.

Purkiss criticised Bartlett for dismissing Spirit Airlines’ collapse on May 2 as only three per cent of capacity.

“The minister counted seats when he should have been counting competitors. The other airlines took Spirit’s passengers, then raised prices.”

While Hurricane Melissa removed 30 per cent of room stock, she noted other destinations that also lost Spirit have grown, such as Dominican Republic, by 12.2 per cent; Cayman Islands, by 11 per cent; and Nassau, by 4.6 per cent, she said.

Purkiss, who is also the Member of Parliament for Hanover East, is demanding that Barlett:

1. Report to Parliament on airlift negotiations for Florida routes before winter.
2. Publish the assessment of Spirit’s impact and contingency plans.
3. State what relief exists for Jamaicans facing emergency travel costs.
4. Provide a timeline to restore competitive service from Kingston to Fort Lauderdale.
“Our people did not abandon Jamaica. They are paying prices that would shame any government, and they are paying in silence. The least the minister owes them is an honest account of what he intends to do,” she said.