The two main aircraft handling firms at the Grantley Adams International airport have spent more than $17 million over the past two years on state-of-the-art ground handling equipment, sky dining, airport dining upgrades and new facilities for air-to-sea passengers, the tourism and international transport minister revealed on Monday.
As he toured the upgrades at Seawell, Ian Gooding-Edghill praised Caribbean Aircraft Handling and Goddard Catering Group for investing in the upgrades in direct response to the government’s push for improved efficiency.
“Both companies have made major investments and they will tell you that we had several meetings at my office when I assumed responsibility, but I’m pleased to tell you that they responded to the call and they’ve made significant investments,” he said.
Gooding-Edghill said the scope of the upgrades was wide, adding that some of the equipment was capable of servicing the Airbus A380, the world’s largest commercial passenger aircraft, making Grantley Adams International one of the few airports in the region with that capability.
Goddard Catering Group invested $4 million last year and was “on track to make an additional $8.5m in equipment across not only the aviation, sky dining, but also in terms of airport dining,” he said.
The state-owned Caribbean Aircraft Handling invested $8 million between 2022 and 2025, he said. As tourism depends on reliable and efficient airport operations, “it’s important that we get tourism right from the point of arrival and through the point of departure,” he added.
The minister also said these investments aligned with the administration’s aggressive airline strategy. “As a result of that, it is important that as we prepare ourselves for another very busy winter period that we have equipment. The more aircraft we have here on the ground, the more equipment we require.”
Baggage handling alone required significant machinery. “An aircraft can carry at least over 300 bags and sometimes as much as
7 000 pounds, depending on which aircraft,” he said. Wide-body aircraft needed specialised containers and high-load equipment, and he said both companies had made “a substantial investment” to meet those requirements.
The airport itself has also expanded its capacity with additional terminal buses and covered stairways.
Airport chief executive officer Hadley Bourne said the transformation of the former Concorde Museum into an air-to-sea terminal formed part of that investment. The airport had spent as much as $6 million to convert the space into a facility capable of seating 800 passengers, he said, reporting that
1 200 to 1 500 passengers now pass through weekly, supported by electric buses and more units arriving shortly in a further investment exceeding $2 million.
Caribbean Aircraft Handling chief executive officer Lemuel Padmore said the upgrades were crucial to maintaining service standards. He said the new machinery would “allow us to realise that massive investment as it relates to equipment to ensure that we deliver on a mantra to exceed our customers’ expectations.”
He thanked the “approximately over 350 members of staff who work tirelessly to ensure that we deliver the quality standard of service.” Padmore said several new technologies would arrive between December and January, including electric stairs, electric high loaders, a new pushback tractor “that can push up to a million pounds,” and a new lavatory truck to strengthen waste-removal operations.
Goddard Catering Group’s general manager for the South Caribbean, Ainsley Rajkumar, said Barbados remained central to the company’s identity. GCG now operates in 30 international airports, and Rajkumar said global partners consistently ranked Grantley Adams “around the top five” in the world. He said the company’s strength lay in its Barbadian workforce: “99.999 per cent of the employees here are Bajans… they greet every passenger… and they’re delivering excellent work every season.”
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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