Lynden Pindling International Airport’s (LPIA) operator yesterday disclosed that passenger numbers for the 2024 holiday season may “slightly trail” last year’s record performance.
The Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), in a statement issued ahead of this Thursday’s Thanksgiving celebration said LPIA last year surpassed all expectations in welcoming more than 45,000 guests during the same holiday period alone.
That was part of a record-breaking year, with a total of 4.01m passengers processed during NAD’s 2024 financial year that ends on June 30. Airport officials said that while this year’s travel projections are expected to remain strong, numbers may trail last year’s peak performance slightly.
“Our record-setting numbers last year affirmed the resilience of the tourism sector and the appeal of The Bahamas as a travel destination. We anticipate a strong performance across all sectors, with the strongest coming from our key source markets in the US,” said Vernice Walkine, NAD’s president and chief executive.
“As an airport community, we are ready to welcome guests and Bahamians returning home for the holidays. Our stakeholders have worked diligently to ensure seamless operations and exceptional service for what we anticipate will be another busy holiday period.”
Since early November, NAD has worked with key airport partners including Bahamas Immigration, Bahamas Customs, the Airport Authority, US Customs & Border Protection (USCBP), Air Traffic Services (ATS), airline operators, airport police and the Road Traffic Department to finalise plans to cope with the anticipated travel surge.
Efforts have focused on reducing wait times, optimising staffing in critical processing areas, and ensuring operational readiness for increased flight arrivals and departures, particularly during peak hours. Travellers are encouraged to arrive at the airport no less than three hours ahead of flights to the US, and two hours for international and domestic departures.
This is designed to allow adequate time for check-in, security screening and processing. US-bound travellers who qualify to use tools such as the Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app and TSA PreCheck are encouraged to do so in order to streamline their airport experience. All LPIA guests can download the AeroCloud app to receive real-time flight updates.
Comments
Flyingfish 3 hours, 5 minutes ago
We need an expanded US Terminal. Its embarrassing that passenger/flight numbers increase yet the people who are supposedly excited for these increases are caught off guard by the demand.
A aircraft shouldn't wait 20-30 mins on the tarmac for a gate.
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