News Clip Showing LCBR Renovations and Future CB and LC Expansions

[jdcpa]

I am not pointing this at you Kathy, but I seriously doubt there are any efforts to increase flights to Little Cayman by Cayman Airways Express, with the possible exception of Saturday since that is changeover day at LCBR.

The Edward Bodden Airfield is owned by several different individuals, most of it owned by one family.

As I understand it the airfield is not up to standards to qualify as an airport and the BAA gives it an exemption each year to operate commercial flights. That is a poor way to say that it does not meet the standards to operate commercial flights so an exemption is given.

The Cayman Islands Government had a Master Plan developed in July of 2014, dealing with all three airports. If I remember correctly, the Little Cayman portion starts around page 197.

First off, no one has any idea if the government will follow the plan, so current talk may vary greatly from the plan. I have heard many comments that vary from the plan. There are comments out there all over the place on what will happen.

Included in the Master Plan are three options for the Little Cayman Airport. (1) Leave the runway and building where as is and add length to runway; (2) leave the building as is and realign the runway and lengthen the runway; (3) move airport to a government owned site to the north of the Booby Pond. The intent is to allow for the Saab, or similar, to get to LC. Both 1 and 2 include widening the runway to get up to standard.

The plan does not include security upgrades (unless you consider a chain link fence around a new airport in option 3), do not include any Customs or Immigration capabilities.

I don't remember any plans to add lights to the airfield or new airport. The plan expresses concerns about bird strikes being adverse to the environment.

Land acquisition costs for the current airfield and expansion of the runway are included in the plan.

An interesting comment in the plan is the desire of people to keep the airport experience the same as it add to the Little Cayman touch of going to the island. Plans for a new airport include a building similar in size to the current one.

I am sure I have left out some other points.

See the link below for the plan.

https://cnslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/CIAA-Airport-Master-Plan-2032-July-2014.pdf

At the end of all this, who knows what they will do??

 

[AggieDiver]

My understanding is that the 2 main parts of the LC airport that are not up to the standards are 1) Open access to the flightline with no security, and 2) no way to xray or screen baggage and carryons. #2 is why you have to deplane and rescan your carryons when you fly from LC through CB on the way to GC. I really doubt the government is very motivated to do much in the way of changes to the LC airport or flight schedule to and from LC at this point. They have bigger fish to fry and improving access and economy on CB seems like a bigger priority, which is fine with me. I would prefer to never fly United again, and United is really the only airline that you needed later flights available to make the connection.

 

[KathyV]

I am not pointing this at you Kathy, but I seriously doubt there are any efforts to increase flights to Little Cayman by Cayman Airways Express, with the possible exception of Saturday since that is changeover day at LCBR.

The Edward Bodden Airfield is owned by several different individuals, most of it owned by one family.

As I understand it the airfield is not up to standards to qualify as an airport and the BAA gives it an exemption each year to operate commercial flights. That is a poor way to say that it does not meet the standards to operate commercial flights so an exemption is given.

The Cayman Islands Government had a Master Plan developed in July of 2014, dealing with all three airports. If I remember correctly, the Little Cayman portion starts around page 197.

First off, no one has any idea if the government will follow the plan, so current talk may vary greatly from the plan. I have heard many comments that vary from the plan. There are comments out there all over the place on what will happen.

Included in the Master Plan are three options for the Little Cayman Airport. (1) Leave the runway and building where as is and add length to runway; (2) leave the building as is and realign the runway and lengthen the runway; (3) move airport to a government owned site to the north of the Booby Pond. The intent is to allow for the Saab, or similar, to get to LC. Both 1 and 2 include widening the runway to get up to standard.

The plan does not include security upgrades (unless you consider a chain link fence around a new airport in option 3), do not include any Customs or Immigration capabilities.

I don't remember any plans to add lights to the airfield or new airport. The plan expresses concerns about bird strikes being adverse to the environment.

Land acquisition costs for the current airfield and expansion of the runway are included in the plan.

An interesting comment in the plan is the desire of people to keep the airport experience the same as it add to the Little Cayman touch of going to the island. Plans for a new airport include a building similar in size to the current one.

I am sure I have left out some other points.

See the link below for the plan.

https://cnslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/CIAA-Airport-Master-Plan-2032-July-2014.pdf

At the end of all this, who knows what they will do??

Thanks for the information that explains a lot! It just seemed odd that they are talking about adding rooms at LCBR, and the news story said that 70% of the visitors to the sister islands stay at the Clearly Cayman resorts, but they are not planning to upgrade the LC airport and flights to accommodate the expansion - even though they must realize that they currently have some problems.

There was a recent article in the Cayman Compass (see link below) about plans to extend the runway at GCM, but of course that airport is government-owned and much, much, much, many times busier than tiny LCM!
Airport seeks contractor to extend runway | Cayman Compass

It might also explain why they have invested in expanding and improving the Brac airport but not Little Cayman. I also enjoy that quaint, old-fashioned Caribbean experience - until I can't get the flights that I need, or I get charged for overweight baggage, and/or my luggage has been delayed! At that point the experience becomes a bit too quaint for me!

 

[jdcpa]

The three biggest reasons the LC airfield is not up to standards are that the runway is not wide enough, the power lines are too close to the runway and there is a building too close to the flight path.

The unspoken reason why you have to recheck your bags on the Brac is that it ups the passenger arrivals to that airport. It does increase security and that is the official reason.

 

[Doctorfish]

I personally love the airport at LC. Coming in, Clive from LCBR usually meets the plane, and on the way out I usually chat with the firefighters while waiting for my flight.

 

[AdivingBel]

^^^This^^^ It may or may not make economic or future sense, but boarding the Otters is like climbing into Mr. Peabody's wayback machine.

 

[Damselfish]

I do love the LC airport, even though it’s not quite as quaint as when we started going there. I don’t see how they will get people there to fill those new rooms though, unless they get people to travel weekdays (which we prefer to do, but many people seem to do the Sat-Sat thing. I wonder if they have the capacity to add any more Sat daytime flights.

 

[KathyV]

My husband loves flying in the Otters, even when we are going to Brac he lobbies for flights on Otters. I usually agree because he really enjoys it.

But if you enjoy flying an Otter "back in time" to a quaint Caribbean island, then you really should plan to visit Saba!

 

[AggieDiver]

I do love the LC airport, even though it’s not quite as quaint as when we started going there. I don’t see how they will get people there to fill those new rooms though, unless they get people to travel weekdays (which we prefer to do, but many people seem to do the Sat-Sat thing. I wonder if they have the capacity to add any more Sat daytime flights.

I read somewhere in the past that what Cayman Airways would really love to do is make everybody fly to Brac on the Saab and only fly the otters between Brac and LC. I think the resort owners already know that getting people to change planes in GC is already an ask for some, and asking people to change planes in GC and CB just to get to LC would be a show stopper for quite a few. I know at least one couple that decided not to do the Scubaboard Surge to LCBR at least in part due to the flight schedules that would require 2 stops with plane changes for them to reliably get to LC.

 

[BDSC]

While Saturday is usually the day everyone comes and goes, folks may want to start considering maybe going from Friday to Friday or Sunday to Sunday. Another option is arriving on Friday to GC, spending the night at a local hotel, and then grabbing one of the early flights to LC. They are typically wide open.

We have a large group going the first week of August and between Friday and Saturday arrivals for us, I grabbed 32 seats the day those flights became available. If you have any sort of group at all and you don't get seats immediately, you will lose out.