The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

After ten consecutive months of declining US passenger traffic, Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) saw a return to growth in May, with airport executives reporting a five percent increase from its largest source market.

Vernice Walkine, president and chief executive of Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), said May was likely the second-busiest May in the airport's history and offered encouraging signs heading into the peak summer travel season.

"This May was probably the second-busiest May we've ever had in our history," Ms Walkine said during yesterday's launch of Breeze Airways' inaugural Tampa-Nassau service.

The NAD chief executive said the most encouraging development was the return to growth from the United States market after an extended period of decline.

"After ten months of negative performance from the US market, we saw five percent growth from the United States in May," she said.

"It appears that US business is being restored, and we are hopeful that trend will continue through the summer."

Ms Walkine said passenger growth was recorded across all major categories.

"We saw significant growth across the domestic, international and US markets in May, and we are hopeful June will continue to perform well, particularly with the addition of the Tampa service," she added.

The comments come as airport officials prepare for what is traditionally one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

"July and the first half of August are typically our busiest periods because families are travelling with their children, and we expect to be very busy again this summer," said Ms Walkine.

She said NAD has already begun coordinating with airlines, security agencies and other airport stakeholders to ensure the airport can handle increased passenger volumes efficiently.

"We meet with all of our stakeholder partners to ensure everyone is fully staffed, and we look for ways to move passengers through the airport more efficiently on both arrivals and departures," she said.

An important component of the preparations, Ms Walkine added, is ensuring all passenger processing systems and baggage handling equipment are operating effectively.

"Last summer was actually one of our best summers in terms of efficiency, and we intend to implement many of the same measures again this year."

While final projections for July traffic have not yet been completed, Ms Walkine said airport officials expect another strong summer season.

"We will have a better sense of that in another week or so, but we expect July to be very, very busy," she said.