Mandeville airport? Gov't exploring the possibility

The Government is exploring the feasibility of building an airport in Mandeville, Transport Minister Robert Montague has announced.

Montague disclosed that the necessary studies are already being done to identify an ideal location.

The aim, he says, to help meet aviation needs on the island’s south coast.

“I have given instructions to the Airports Authority of Jamaica to look at Mandeville, because Mandeville is an area that is underserved,” he said.

Montague was speaking at a ceremony held this week to officially present an Aerodrome Operator Certificate to the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston.

NMIA earned the certification on October 4 from the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority signifying that it has met the required international safety and security standards for aerodrome operations.

In the meantime, the transport minister announced that upgrading work is now being carried out at some of the island’s aerodromes.

Already, he said new pilot lounges and improved security features have been put in place at Tinson Pen Aerodrome, in Kingston, and at the Ken Jones Aerodrome in Port Antonio.

Work is also being undertaken at the Negril Aerodrome in Westmoreland to improve drainage, Montague announced.

“We were discussing with the operators of the Lionel Denshan Aerodrome [in St Elizabeth] to do a one-off investment to upgrade that airport,” he said.

Further, he indicated that the government is looking at revitalising the old airstrip at Holland Bamboo on the Holland Estate.

“We have a world-class attraction in the Appleton Estate right there and we also have the plans of the Government to put in an agricultural economic development zone. Air travel, to move the goods to market quickly, will facilitate the success of that [venture],” he noted.

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