BOGOTA—Cayman Islands is seeking to attract long-haul connectivity to Europe as traffic continues to climb.

The British Overseas Territory recovered to 92% of 2019 international airline capacity in terms of available seat kilometers (ASKs) during 2023.

Rosa Harris, director of the Cayman Islands Tourism Department, said the organization has worked with home carrier Cayman Airways to launch flights to Bridgetown, Barbados, Los Angeles and Panama.

Additionally, Sun Country launched flights from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), while the likes of British Airways, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines have increased capacity.

Speaking at Routes Americas 2024, Harris explained the expansion of Owen Roberts International Airport offers the greatest opportunity for the Cayman Islands in the long term. The plan includes the extension of the runway, modernization of the air traffic control system and a new terminal facility.

“This extension will grow our footprint in terms of possible long-haul direct services,” Harris said. “New nonstop services will be possible from Europe, and this is a key feature of our new aviation strategy. We also have incremental hotel capacity enabling more visitors to be accommodated in our country.”

Cayman Islands has one link to Europe at present, according to OAG Schedules Analyser data, with British Airways flying to Grand Cayman from London Heathrow via Nassau, Bahamas.

Harris added that the Cayman Islands Tourism Department is “constantly monitoring” room capacity against airline capacity to see the where yields and fares are in the market. “We are also always looking at stimulating demand in our slower months,” she said.