LPIA: Robust Rebound for Easter Travel

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Arrivals and departures are up significantly this easter holiday – it’s traditionally one of the busiest seasons for Lynden Pindling International Airport.

Nad Director of Airport Operations Jonathan Hanna tells our Jasmin Brown that the rebound comes following a two-year decline caused by COVID-19.

The Bahamas saw a historic 7.25 million foreign visitor arrivals in 2019, over four million of those arrivals were at LPIA.

The following year there were only 1.79 million total foreign visitors, when global travel came to a standstill and the tourism sector contracted by nearly 80 percent.

Hanna says when it comes to domestic travel, there has also been an uptick this year, from 60 percent of 2019 traffic in January to 70 percent last month.

He says the government’s relaxation of testing requirements for family island travel is helping to boost those figures.

While the numbers are promising for the industry, Hanna says Russia’s war with Ukraine has switched the outlook to “cautious optimism”.

He also says if airline bookings continue at their current pace, the local industry could return to pre-pandemic levels by next year.