The Prime Minister’s budget address announced a new “scheduling protocol” intended to end “flight bunching” that causes terminal congestion. The Prime Minister stated that the government would give the AIA the “authority to spread arrivals across the day”.
However, on Tuesday, the Leader of the Opposition Ralph Gonsalves described this statement as “remarkable” and the assumption that AIA alone has the authority to spread arrivals as “ludicrous”.
He stated that flight arrival times are not determined solely by the destination airport but are a complex combination of:
Airline availability and scheduling.
Gate availability and scheduling at the source airports (e.g., Miami, JFK, Heathrow).
Connecting flights and simple logistics.
Gonsalves said the AIA cannot simply “spread” flights, and provided several examples:
Virgin Atlantic: He questioned if AIA could realistically overrule Heathrow, Grantley Adams (Barbados), and Virgin Atlantic to change arrival times.
American Airlines: Flights leaving Miami at 11:15 a.m. arrive at 3:00 p.m. and depart at 5:00 p.m. to return by 8:00 p.m and noted that moving this time an hour earlier or later would cause passengers to miss connections to or from other destinations like New York.
Gonsalves said, “JetBlue flights leave JFK at 9:15 a.m. to arrive at 2:00 p.m, allowing for a turnaround to get back to New York by 9:00 p.m and stated that if the flight were an hour earlier (8:15 a.m.), visitors would have to be at JFK by 5:15 a.m, requiring them to leave their homes as early as 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. If the flight were an hour later, visitors would return to JFK close to midnight, disrupting connections to Boston or the West Coast”.
Gonsalves said that flight bunching in the afternoon is common for most Caribbean destinations due to these logistical realities.
The Opposition Leader also addressed the Prime Minister’s comment that the AIA is “already out of space” less than 10 years after opening and defended the airport’s design, stating;
“The terminal was originally designed for vertical and horizontal expansion and that it did not made sense to build a massive building that would sit empty for the first few years. The expansion plans were produced last year in consultation with the original architects and AIA management, ready for movement in 2026”.
Gonsalves also criticized the current government for deciding to “study” the expansion rather than build it.