LPIA arrival numbers show growth in Dec.

Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) is already seeing an uptick in scheduled flights into Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) this month, the company’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications Jan Knowles told Guardian Business yesterday, adding that with the large hotels opening in the next few days, there is a hope that the increases will continue.

Knowles said December passenger numbers are already trending above October’s and November’s numbers, as the holiday season draws near and the opening of Baha Mar and Atlantis is being realized. 

“The airport has seen an increase in scheduled flights for the month of December 2020 over prior months,” Knowles said.

“As the major hotels reopen we are hopeful that the slight recovery in passenger numbers and flights we are seeing from month to month will steadily continue.”

Atlantis officially opens today for the first time since the government enforced measures to stem the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Baha Mar is expected to open its doors to guests on December 17, for the first time since March.

The Central Bank of The Bahamas in its Monthly Economic and Financial Developments (MEFD) report for October 2020 explained that year to date The Bahamas’ foreign arrivals fell by 68 percent compared to last year.

“Underpinning this outturn, air arrivals declined by 72.4 percent, following a gain of 11.6 percent in the previous year, while sea visitors fell by 66.6 percent, relative to a 10.1 percent advance in 2019,” the MEFD report states.

“In terms of traffic through the country’s main gateway, data provided by the Nassau Airport Development Company Limited revealed that total international departures fell to 4,794 passengers during the month of October, overturning the 1.7 percent uptick to 91,115 a year earlier.

“On a year-to-date basis, total foreign departures declined significantly by 71.7 percent, a reversal from the 14.2 percent expansion in the prior year. By region, the US component, which is higher by volume, reduced by 72.7 percent, a turnaround from the 15.5 percent growth recorded in 2019. Similarly, the non-U.S. international component contracted by 64.8 percent, contrasting with a 6.2 percent increase a year earlier.”

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