Jamaica has secured more than 1.3 million airline seats for the January-April 2027 winter tourist season, a 23.5 per cent increase over the same period a year earlier, in the clearest sign yet that airline partners are betting on the island’s recovery from Hurricane Melissa.

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) said airlines have allocated 1.32 million seats for the upcoming winter season, up some 252,000 from the comparable 2026 period. The commitments come as Jamaica’s accommodation sector continues to rebuild following the Category 5 storm, which struck in late October 2025 and devastated much of the island’s main tourism corridor.

“Securing more than 1.3 million seats is a strong vote of confidence in Jamaica and our tourism recovery,” said Edmund Bartlett, minister of tourism. “These commitments substantially reduce the risk of insufficient airlift for the winter season and provide a solid foundation for welcoming more visitors. Our task now is to turn that confidence into bookings, visitor spending, and economic opportunities for Jamaicans.”

Canada is driving the expansion, with allocated seats rising 62.1 per cent year over year, followed by the United States at 23.1 per cent and Latin America at 2.0 per cent.

Capacity from Canada and Latin America now exceeds pre-storm 2025 levels, the JTB said, while overall winter capacity has recovered to 92.4 per cent of the 2025 total.

Stopover arrivals plunged 68 per cent in November 2025 from a year earlier as hotels closed for repairs though the decline narrowed to 34 per cent by December as properties reopened.

Passenger traffic fell 17 per cent in September 2026 at Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport, Jamaica’s primary tourism gateway, to 238,300. That is an improvement on the 25.5 per cent decline between January and September at 2.87 million, according to data from Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, which operates both of the island’s international airports. Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport registered a 3.8 per cent dip in September total passengers to 132,400, and year-to-date volumes dipped 1.8 per cent to 1.39 million. Analysts attribute the weaker performance primarily to reduced local travel and softer business-event activity, a key driver of traffic through the capital.

Approximately 3,500 hotel rooms are expected to remain unavailable next winter, leaving about 90 per cent of Jamaica’s room stock operational. The JTB said planned airlift is broadly aligned with available accommodation and noted that the outlook has improved steadily over the past two months, supported by a series of additional airline commitments.

“Our airline partners are expanding access to Jamaica, and we are working closely with tour operators and accommodation partners to translate those seats into bookings,” said Donovan White, the JTB’s director of tourism. “As more properties reopen, we will continue aligning airlift with room availability to support a strong winter season.”

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