Montego Bay Sangster International Airport processed just 0.9 percent fewer passengers in October this year, with 257,600 passing through Jamaica’s largest airport compared with 259,800 in 2025, the month Hurricane Melissa hit the western end of the country and severely disrupted the tourism sector.
It is unclear what impact the reduction in room count, arising from the closure of a number of hotels since November last year, is playing in the reduced visitor traffic.
While the numbers reflect stability, they are far less than the 319,200 commuters that passed through Montego Bay in October 2024. The 2026 outturn reflects a fall of 19.3 percent, compared with 2025, slightly worse than the decline in September of 17.6 percent. For the ten months to October this year, Sangster processed 23.9 percent less passengers than for 2025 with 3,124,500 versus 4,107,100 in 2025.
Kingston, Norman Manley Airport processed 3.8 percent more passengers this year October with 126,700 that passed through, up from 122,000 in October 2025. Year to date movements slipped 1.3 percent 1,511,400 from 1,531,800 in 2025. Last year, October, Kingston Norman Manley Airport handled 13.0 percent fewer passengers compared to the previous year, with 121,500 in 2025 vs 139,600 in 2024.
The data was extracted from the website of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, S.A.B. de C.V., operator of both airports.
MFS Capital Partners ended the week with a gain of 21.28 percent to be the leading stock rising, but Limners and Bards was the weakest, in falling 12.5 percent. Caribbean Cream was the sixth-best performing stock, following solid second quarter results, reported after the close of the market on Thursday, with profit before tax amounting to $152 million for the half-year, and earnings per share coming in at 18 cents for the second quarter, up from 12 cents in the first quarter. The shares responded positively to the results, triggering the circuit breaker. In the process, it traded at $4.19. Looking ahead, the twelve-month forecast compiled by ICInsider.com projects earnings of 55 cents per share, with the stock set to rise by 186 percent over the next twelve months to $11. The stock has so far gained 84 percent for the year to date.
Caribbean Assurance Brokers is projected to rise 476 percent. The insurance broker’s shares had lost ground over the past year, so the forecast implies a substantial recovery. Express Catering is forecast to gain 267 percent, placing it third on the list. Express operates restaurants at Sangster International Airport, so its outlook is closely tied to a rebound in passenger traffic and tourism.
Among the top five winning companies for the week, MFS Capital Partners topped the list, after rising 21.28 percent. R.A. Williams Distributors was next with a gain of 20.31 percent, Paramount Trading advanced by 18.18 percent. Dolphin Cove rallied by 16.42 percent, while Consolidated Bakeries rose to the top five with a gain of 15.11 percent. See chart for the top 10.
The number of passengers travelling via the Sangster International Airport was 344,600, down from 447,400 last year August. For the year to date, 2.63 million passed through the island’s north western airport, 26.2 percent below last year of 3.56 million passengers.
The Montego Bay airport processed 274,500 incoming and outgoing passengers, down by 31.4 percent from 400,100 in 2025, representing a 17 percent improvement over the 37.7 percent decline for January. For the year to date, traffic dropped 34.7 percent to 559,000 from 856,300 in the prior year.
At the same time, traffic passing through Kingston Norman Manley slipped marginally from 137,800 in September last year to 137,400.