Purkiss demands Bartlett account for collapsing arrivals and punishing airfares and warns the Diaspora is being charged whatever the traffic will bear

Opposition Spokesperson on Tourism and Linkages and MP for East Hanover, Ms. Andrea Purkiss, has called on Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, to explain what is being done to stop the decline in visitor arrivals and the soaring cost of air travel to Jamaica.

“Somewhere in Fort Lauderdale this morning there is a Jamaican woman wondering if she can afford to bury her mother,” Purkiss said. “Ninety minutes of flying, but she’s being asked to pay US$3,700. That is not a fare. That is a wall.”

Checks in mid-August showed American Airlines quoting US$3,744 return between Montego Bay and Miami, with JetBlue’s Fort Lauderdale flights repeatedly sold out.

While Jamaica Tourist Board data show non-resident Jamaican arrivals rose 7.6% in June, Purkiss warned this does not mean fares are affordable. “Do not mistake our people’s love of country for evidence they can afford these prices. A Jamaican will borrow, beg, or empty savings to get home. That is not a market working. That is a captive people being charged whatever the traffic will bear.”

Compared to 2024, non-resident Jamaican arrivals are down 16.5%. “Those are the grandmothers who didn’t come. The grandchildren who didn’t meet them. The empty chairs at nine-nights and christenings,” she said.

Sangster International handled 26.7% fewer passengers in the first half of the year. Overall stopover arrivals fell 23.5% to 1.13 million, with US arrivals down 27.9%.

Ms. Purkiss criticised the Minister for dismissing Spirit Airlines’ collapse on May 2 as only 3% of capacity. “The Minister counted seats when he should have been counting competitors. The other airlines took Spirit’s passengers, then raised prices.”

While Hurricane Melissa removed 30% of room stock, she noted other destinations that also lost Spirit have grown: Dominican Republic +12.2%, Cayman +11%, Nassau +4.6%.

. Purkiss is demanding the Minister:

1. Report to Parliament on airlift negotiations for Florida routes before winter.

2. Publish the assessment of Spirit’s impact and contingency plans.

3. State what relief exists for Jamaicans facing emergency travel costs.

4. Provide a timeline to restore competitive service from Kingston to Fort Lauderdale.

“Our people did not abandon Jamaica. They are paying prices that would shame any government, and they are paying in silence. The least the Minister owes them is an honest account of what he intends to do.”