Passenger traffic at Norman Manley International Airport has fallen by 3.2 per cent so far in 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, while cargo volumes at the Kingston gateway have surged by 50 per cent over the corresponding period, airport operators revealed on Tuesday.

Sitara English-Byfield, chief executive officer at PAC Kingston Airport Limited (PACKAL), said the reduction in passenger traffic at NMIA was partly due to a downturn in activity by Spirit Airlines during April. The American low-cost carrier announced on May 2 that it had gone out of business after 34 years in operation.

Speaking at an NMIA Stakeholders Forum at the S Hotel in Kingston, English-Byfield noted that cargo volumes at the airport for the first four months of 2026 hadve risen by 70 per cent compared to the first four months of 2019, and by 50 per cent compared to the first four months of 2025.