Grand Cayman airport update

[scubadada]

I'm sitting in the departure area following a week on the Cayman Aggressor V, I will review the trip with photos soon

I can't get over how much the airport has been improved. They still have quite a bit of work to do, but, the gains are very significant. Of course, arrival is still on the tarmac, down the stairs and into the airport. Immigration, baggage claim, and customs are all new and worked flawlessly and quickly. I passed out of customs and immediately boarded a cab to the Aggressor. Today my cab dropped me off at the new ticketing area, also spacious and modern, but no seating for very early arrivals. Entry into the new security area is directly from the ticketing area and was efficient and fast. The new departure lounge has 7 nice gates and is quite large, with extensive seating. Most of the vendors are not yet in place. There is food and drink available.

Anyone coming to Grand Cayman, who has been here before, will be impressed with the improvements. None of the new areas were in use when I went to Cayman Brac over Halloween of 2017.

I did not rent or return a car this trip and did not take a commuter plane to Little Cayman or Brac. There is still fairly extensive construction going on for the exterior of the airport with with fenced off areas and rerouting

 

[caydiver]

Yes. It is great and changing everyday. My son flew out today as well. Had no bags to check and had his boarding pass so arrived an hour before departure and had no issues even though it was busy.

 

[cgills]

Two thumbs up!!!. Arrived on island Wednesday afternoon, and sailed through new swanky customs and immigration areas. Looking good !!

 

[scubadada]

Yes. It is great and changing everyday. My son flew out today as well. Had no bags to check and had his boarding pass so arrived an hour before departure and had no issues even though it was busy.

I did not even take into consideration that this was Saturday, really a killer day in the past. The departure hall got relatively crowded by the midday rush but I think there were seats for everyone

 

[large_diver]

Nice - thanks for the report! Looking forward to seeing how it is in March

 

[flyboy08]

Nice - thanks for the report! Looking forward to seeing how it is in March

In January

 

[Doctorfish]

I went trough the airport a week ago, Saturday to Saturday.
Arrival was a breeze. Even though there were 4 other international planes at the terminal when we arrived, it only took 35 minutes to be out the door. There are more agents at immigration than previous and the baggage system seemed to work well.

Departure was another story. Check in took forever as the agents at the Air Canada station ( who were wearing Cayman Airlines livery ), took forever to get customers through. They seemed to be more interested in yakking to each other than anything else. The departures lounge was an absolute zoo. Not a seat in sight, at least 40-50 people sitting on the floor and long lines at the gates precluding efficient boarding by zone. There is little space between the seating areas and the gates so the lines become disorganized. It was so noisy that it was impossible to hear announcements. The bathroom is marginally bigger than the old terminal but still inadequate. There were lines outside. There were a few people in wheelchairs who had a struggle in the crowd scene, let alone getting on to a plane.

The new airport is slightly better than the old one but IMO, was not built with any vision for the future. For an island with a first world economy and over a million air passengers annually, it is woefully inadequate.

The restaurants

 

[kelemvor]

Are they out of land on GC? It seems surprising, given what I've read about their economy, that they don't build a large international airport like we'd have in the US. Something along the lines of ATL or MIA or even the improved TIA.

Still, I'm glad that when I visit I will be experiencing the new and improved rather than the old and busted that I read about.

Edit: Eh.. I looked it up. If GC only has 1 million passengers a year, that's got to be the reason. TIA is the smallest of those three I mentioned and they have nearly 2 million passengers a month. When you've got 24 times the business, you probably get 24 times the budget.

 

[KathyV]

Are they out of land on GC? It seems surprising, given what I've read about their economy, that they don't build a large international airport like we'd have in the US. Something along the lines of ATL or MIA or even the improved TIA.

Still, I'm glad that when I visit I will be experiencing the new and improved rather than the old and busted that I read about.

Edit: Eh.. I looked it up. If GC only has 1 million passengers a year, that's got to be the reason. TIA is the smallest of those three I mentioned and they have nearly 2 million passengers a month. When you've got 24 times the business, you probably get 24 times the budget.

The article below says that nearly 2 million visitors arrived on GC in the first 10 months of 2018, but most of them were cruise ship passengers. Almost 400,000 arrived by air between January through October:
Record tourist arrivals edge toward 2 million | Cayman Compass

During our recent flights to/from GC and CB - during the traditionally low season of Oct/Nov - although there may not be a true "low season" any longer - we were generally pleased with the new airport, but there were some kinks. We breezed through immigration and customs during our initial arrival on GC and had no problems with arrival or baggage claim during our return from Brac. The Security Hall is much improved and we didn't have any delays during our trip over to Brac or during our trip home from GC. The arrival waiting area, while my husband went to get the rental car, was roomy, comfortable and air-conditioned.

The only problems were the long wait in the sterile, comfortless ticketing hall, to check in with the United booking desk. And the departure lounge was small, crowded, noisy, had no conveniences, and there was a long line for the tiny bathroom. Also, the process for in-transit passengers that were traveling to (or returning from) another destination was rather clumsy and convoluted.

However, the airport wasn't finished when we were there so I am hopeful that more improvements will be completed, and that these problems will be addressed when the airport is finally finished.

In the meantime, don't forget the free shuttle to the George Town Yacht, it can make your travel day a much more pleasant experience!
George Town Yacht Club

 

[caydiver]

Are they out of land on GC? It seems surprising, given what I've read about their economy, that they don't build a large international airport like we'd have in the US. Something along the lines of ATL or MIA or even the improved TIA.

Still, I'm glad that when I visit I will be experiencing the new and improved rather than the old and busted that I read about.

Edit: Eh.. I looked it up. If GC only has 1 million passengers a year, that's got to be the reason. TIA is the smallest of those three I mentioned and they have nearly 2 million passengers a month. When you've got 24 times the business, you probably get 24 times the budget.

You are not the only one thinking the same thing. Time will tell but there are many more reasons besides tourism that the idea may be viable. This year was an anomaly with regard to the number of tourists but there are other reasons why a bigger airport with longer runways might be feasible. The concept is being thrown around and not by those looking to make headlines but those who have solid long term interests in investing and developing a plan that if implemented would be successful and beneficial to the country as a whole and not just one sector.