JAMAICA. Sangster International Airport (SIA), Jamaica’s leading gateway operated by MBJ Airports Limited (MBJ), yesterday officially opened its newly expanded departures area.
The event was graced by Minister of Transport & Mining, the Honourable Audley Shaw, representing Prime Minister Andrew Holness along with MBJ CEO Shane Munroe, Airports Authority of Jamaica President Audley Deidrick and other Government officials and stakeholders.
Planning for the departures expansion commenced in 2017. This included hiring UK company Pragma to provide expertise in airport space & category mix planning and fellow London firm The Design Solution (TDS) to support the airport’s commercial planning strategy and provide airport retail design services.
Both Pragma and TDS were instrumental in the redevelopment of the retail programme, one designed to transform the airport’s retail and service offering to international standards by delivering a memorable and stimulating shopping experience for passengers.
MBJ said the departure terminal’s new design seamlessly blends creative architectural design with commercial drivers by enhancing natural light and offering more circulation space and seating for passengers.
The new retail programme comprises an array of concessions (see table below) creating a Sense of Place, providing passengers with a memorable experience to indulge in their last moments in Jamaica, MBJ said.
The redevelopment of the 4,000sq m departures area includes a 1,300sq m walkthrough duty free store operated by global travel retailer Dufry at the entrance to the departures retail area. This strategic design has created a functional and effective layout of the entire retail programme and provides clear sightlines and footfall to the broader retail offering, MBJ said.
A 12m-high Rotunda double-height space, with a floor-to-ceiling curtain wall creates the focal point of the newly developed food court. The zone is highlighted by a palm tree-inspired bar featuring wrap-around LED screens and the Bob Marley – One Love Restaurant (currently exclusive to Sangster International) with a scheduled opening date of February 2023.
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The Moodie View: Championing a true Sense of PlaceMinister of Transport & Mining, the Honourable Audley Shaw expressed excitement in seeing the development, stating, “MBJ Airports have been consistently raising the bar for airports in the region. It serves as a true representation of the vision to bring Jamaica’s aviation into the 21st century and well beyond. Congratulations to the MBJ Airports and the team at the SIA on this new milestone. Job well done.”
Deidrick also noted his satisfaction with the development. He commended the MBJ management on the redevelopment, saying it represents a prime example of a successful public private partnership and underscores the benefits of such development to the country.
For Shane Munroe, who transitioned into the CEO role at the onset of the pandemic, the opening was a particularly significant moment. His clear vision and decisive leadership have guided the execution of the project, MBJ said.
Munroe said: “Airports worldwide have been forced to assess their strategic outlook given the impact of the global pandemic. Early lessons taught us at MBJ that we needed to continue responding to the crisis with agility, innovation and a passenger-centric focus into the future.
“I am truly proud of the entire team that has worked to make this vision a reality and we will be pursuing transformational changes that are equally passenger focused and operationally impactful, futureproofing MBJ’s continued recovery.
“The completion of this work is one step as we work towards our vision of being a leading tourism destination airport, exceeding the expectations of our passengers, while being uniquely Jamaican.”
Munroe added: “Every step of the customer journey on arrival and departure is an opportunity to win the heart of a visitor so that they will choose to visit Jamaica over and over again. We want our passengers to develop an emotional connection to our country and by extension, Sangster International Airport, creating wow experiences at each step of the journey that will draw them back to Jamaica.
“Our intention with facilities such as this departures area that you see here today is to do just that, win their hearts, and have them remember why they must visit this beautiful country once more.”
The Design Solution Managing Director Robbie Gill commented, “Early in 2017, and with many of the retail leases after duty free coming up for renewal, the team from Sangster approached us to see if we could find any further opportunities. Little did we know how ambitious the airport was.
“As it turned out, their vision was to create a gateway that would challenge any other airport in the Caribbean and to both welcome visitors but also to bid them a fond farewell before their next visit.
“This is the first step towards the airport team’s ultimate ambition. We are so proud to have been part of the journey so far and look forward to the incredible future evolving.”
Sangster International Airport’s newly upgraded retail offer spans 68 outlets featuring a wide variety of products. The store aesthetics are infused with a strong Jamaican Sense of Place creating meaningful experiences for passengers, MBJ said.
The designer’s view
Originally appointed in 2017 to support the airport’s commercial planning strategy, The Design Solution’s (TDS) role gradually expanded to encompass four major design elements of the airport development: commercial spaces, operational areas, the new Dufry-operated walkthrough duty free store, and design and branding for a new food & beverage concept exclusive to Sangster International.
TDS said that the core commercial planning challenge was that passengers split north and south in the duty free shop, passing through two separate commercial zones on their way to the two departure piers.
Analysis by Pragma Consulting, working with TDS on the initial planning, suggested that around 40-45% of footfall was being lost. The planning approach overcame the retail visibility barriers by expanding and reconfiguring the space (6,600sq m), including re-setting the guest path, to ensure 100% exposure to the commercial space on their journey to the gates.
TDS then created a new design ethos and design guidelines for use across the whole commercial space to drive a cohesive passenger experience.
The expanded retail and F&B experience is complemented by additional seating, improved natural lighting and a terminal-wide focus on giving travellers a true expression of Jamaica on their departure.
The local spirit is expressed through design, including a powerful emphasis of Jamaica’s natural beauty, heritage, iconic local products (such as Blue Mountain coffee) and the airport’s leading role as the tourist gateway to the island. The TDS team also integrated a number of these core design themes into the operational areas of the terminal.
At the start of the retail space is the terminal’s new walkthrough duty free store from Dufry. The airport’s F&B offer has been transformed within an expanded zone overlooking the apron, including a strong focus on local brands. The F&B spaces also integrate a series of core design elements to link the holistic passenger experience across the retail, F&B and operational spaces. The initial design inspiration in this area was the shapes and form of palm tree thorns and trunks but, as the design work progressed, the dominant theme became the inspiration from a Jamaican icon, Bob Marley.
As noted, the centrepiece of the new F&B experience is the TDS-designed Bob Marley One Love Restaurant, scheduled to open in February 2023. TDS provided design support to regional specialist F&B operator Margaritaville and the Marley Group family estate to help develop the world’s first restaurant themed around the life and work of Jamaica’s most revered musician and campaigner.
Robbie Gill said: “Huge congratulations to Shane Munroe, CEO of MBJ Airports Limited, and his team for their incredible commitment to developing Sangster International, achieved in the face of the pressures inflicted by the global crisis. TDS has been proud to support their focus on improving the passenger experience while simultaneously driving optimal commercial performance.
“The depth of our working relationship with Sangster International in developing commercial planning and design across the whole airport has enabled our multidisciplinary design team to develop an exceptional understanding of the airport, its needs, ambitions and personality and then embed those factors into our design work right across the airport space, from commercial planning to retail design.
“Such is our passion for this project that one of the key members of The Design Solution team, John Clarke, has been working from Jamaica for over a year. This local immersion and love for the island has been fundamental to creating an authentic and unique airport experience.
“Airports worldwide face increasing pressure to enhance the whole passenger experience but they need to achieve this while also driving operational and commercial performance; that is exactly the strategy adopted at Sangster International. A key aspect is that many airports operating with older terminals worldwide need to take new approaches to the traveller flow. Too often, airports focus predominantly on creating new retail and F&B experiences – but this must be supported by a planning strategy that optimises flow into the commercial spaces to make them fully effective.
“At Sangster International we have managed to create a startling increase in passenger exposure to the commercial offer ensuring that when they experience these exciting new spaces they are highly engaged and convinced to spend more.”
Click above for a short video introducing the inauguration ceremony
Shane Munroe commented: “The Design Solution has been a sustained and highly effective specialist design support to our long-term development strategy at Sangster International. They have shared our commitment to creating a unique and authentic expression of Jamaica for our passengers as part of a memorable airport experience, while ensuring that we optimise the revenue potential across our commercial spaces.
“We are delighted to officially launch these exciting new spaces and our new standard of passenger-experience, but the work continues as we have further plans to consolidate Sangster International’s position as the benchmark airport experience for the Caribbean.”
MBJ’s broad development focus across the whole airport continues in 2023, with plans for the expansion of the Immigration Hall, Outbound Security area, Check-in area and landside roads.
By the end of 2022 traffic at Sangster International is forecast to achieve around 92% of 2019 levels, which was the busiest year in the airport’s history, and a number of new routes are being planned, including additional connections to the USA and Europe.
