Clayton Mitchell, Environment and Quality Manager at PAC Kingston Airport Limited (PACKAL), announced the airport’s recent environmental milestone—achieving Level 2 Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA).

“The first and most important update is the achievement of our Airport Carbon Accreditation Level 2 certification, which is a reduction. We were able to achieve this in January, and this is a mark to show that we are a sustainable airport,” Mitchell shared during the airport’s stakeholder forum.

A central focus of NMIA’s sustainability push is reducing energy consumption and improving solar energy generation. While solar output dipped by 18 per cent compared to last year—due in part to shading from willow trees lining the dual carriageway—Mitchell noted that a cost-effective internal project was completed to trim the trees. “We should be seeing an improvement in those numbers for the months to come,” he said.

Despite the solar shortfall, the airport has successfully cut overall energy consumption by 25 per cent, even as passenger traffic increased. Waste volumes have also risen, including a 15 per cent increase in burnable international waste, which has been effectively managed by the incinerator team.

In addition to energy and waste, water conservation is also being tracked. “Compared to the three-year moving average from 2022-2024, we’ve been able to decrease the amount of water consumption generated from the airport by four per cent,” Mitchell explained. From February to April, NMIA recorded four consecutive months of decreased water use per passenger.

Looking ahead, Mitchell announced the airport’s intention to move toward ACA Level 3. A key driver of this goal will be to reduce the Domestic Waste Recycling Project, set to launch in June 2025. “We want to separate compostable waste from recyclable waste airport-wide,” he said. New bins will be installed throughout the terminals, with signage and prompts to support passenger and staff participation. “We want to develop a culture of recycling,” Mitchell emphasised, encouraging feedback to help improve the initiative.

Kaydian Dawes-Wynter, Commercial and Car Park Manager, PAC Kingston Airport Limited (PACKAL), focused on operational improvements and upcoming developments.

She announced that iPrint Group Jamaica Limited, a local company, was awarded the advertising concession for NMIA. The new agreement began on March 1, 2025. “Tell your friends, tell your business associates that they can advertise at the Norman Manley International Airport,” she said.

Dawes-Wynter also confirmed that Regency Petroleum Limited will construct the long-anticipated on-site gas station, with construction beginning in September 2025 and opening targeted for March 1, 2026. She added that the airport will release a tender for its fuel farm operations in July 2025.

Providing updates on car park operations, Dawes-Wynter stated that pay station availability has mostly met the 95 per cent uptime target, except in March 2025, when one station dropped to 28 per cent due to technical issues. That has since been resolved.

Further enhancements include upgraded card modules at pay stations and efforts to address polymer banknote rejection. “We’ve been working with the Bank of Jamaica and commercial banks to ensure we always have new notes on hand,” she said.

To improve resilience, the airport plans to enclose pay stations ATM-style. That will be done in quarter three, with the hope of completion in quarter four.

In a move to ease traffic congestion during peak times, NMIA will reintroduce a VIP parking area, starting renovations in the third quarter of 2025. “So that area has some planter boxes, and it has some old car park equipment. So we’ll be removing those. We’ll start our project in quarter three of this year and replace those with some parking spaces. We’re hoping that somehow it will assist us somewhat,” Dawes-Wynter added, thanking stakeholders for their ongoing support.