Airport justifies pick-up and drop-off changes
(CNS): Following the widespread public backlash over the new traffic flow at the airports, which started Monday, bringing an end to kerbside drop-off and pick-up for private vehicles, officials from the Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) have said the changes are due to security reasons. Only authorised public transport will be permitted to pull up in front of the main terminals as these are vetted vehicles as per international rules.
“As airport security continues to evolve globally, the Cayman Islands Airports Authority is committed to mitigating risk and providing an excellent airport experience,” said officials in a second press release about the changes, which that have not been well received.
“These changes are a necessity in order to comply with International Civil Aviation regulatory requirements that specify that unknown, or ‘unvetted’, vehicles are not permitted to be within 30 meters of any Airport terminal building.”
Officials said that taxis, pre-booked bus operators and limousines have gone through a rigorous airport and public transport screening and licensing process.
Given the concerns people have about getting into the terminals in poor weather with heavy luggage, the airport said that porters will be available to assist passengers with their luggage, or passengers may use the airport luggage carts to carry their luggage to terminal at no cost to them. “Airport Customer Service personnel will provide umbrellas to assist passengers in inclement weather conditions,” the CIAA stated.
While parking fees are being waived for September while people get used to the new system, in October drivers will be expected to park and pay when collecting passengers, though a five minute drop off zone has been created in the short term parking area, where there will not be a fee.
However, people are concerned that five minutes may not be long enough and that this could create queues as private vehicles will have to wait for a ticket and will be entering into the car park alongside traffic using the short-term parking, as well congestion inside the parking area on entry and exit as people queue to pay to leave.
Map Vehicular Traffic Flow for ORIA, effective 30 August 2021
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Local News, Travel
When did ISIS come to Cayman?
Another entity run by a private sector board.
Shut down the SAGC’S and return them to the civil service.
Let’s start with Awfulreg. They monthly board salaries alone can keep NAU open.
They don’t have the time off to quarantine
board of directors
I see 4 names on the CIAA website
Roy Grant
Nathaniel Tibbetts
Charles Clifford
Stran Bodden
Did I miss anyone or is that it?
WORC is working on that. They are letting in anyone that wants to come. The immigration free for all continues.
You just voted them in as MP’s
is the useless, parking payment machine and/ or collector still in the terminal. this should be a laugh. is this place moving backwards, na true?
Yes, an important fact to remember is that the CIAA is incapable of running a car park. Cannot maintain the payment systems, the gates don’t work properly, the machines don’t work, the staff, nice as they are, are awol 90% of the time, and (pre covid at least) the entire system seemed to be in shock when a plane arrived.
Let that sink in.
CIAA are incapable of running a car park. I blame the board. Bunch of cretins for years now.
If a terrorist decided that Cayman was a target and could actually find where it was – how difficult would it be to get a reasonable looking car, stick a “Taxi” sign on the roof, pack it with explosives, drive up to the drop off kerb and blow everyone to Kingdom come.
Who checks the cabs as they arrive at the airport to verify they are OK.
Would the Airport Authority/CIG please publish on CNS the international directive requiring these new security measures….
Please, no logical replies it throws them all for a loop.
Why even put a taxi sign on it? I hardly think they are going to care about getting a ticket!
Or just hijack a taxi
Ever heard of this thing called a ‘risk based approach’
Application by CI gov: treat cayman as if it is kabul airport. Suprised we dont need CI regiment to provide armed patrols
“treat cayman as if it is kabul airport” Now that is a super-stupid statement! I wonder what nutcase made that up?
Seriously? We are worried about car bombers in Cayman? Taxi drivers have gone through a “rigorous” screening ( to ensure they are at low risk of car bombing)?
Dumb, dumb, dumb…..
The taxi mafia wins again.
Since when we had to worry about car bombs and suicide bombers in the Cayman islands. This is not Kabul airport. After all that money spent on a new airport this is how we have be SAD.Why cayman cant be how we want it not following the world with their fear tactics. Locals always get the shit end of the stick and ofcourse tourists get the red carpet.thats how our government thinks foreigners first.
International standards and recommended practices are not law. All countries can file differences and many countries have. A ‘vetted’ vehicle does not mean a suicide bomber won’t use it. Honestly there are some dumb people around. Security must be at a level for the threat. Cayman is hardly a food target for terrorists and besides most of them bank with us.
Why cant it just be free, it’s not as though we are getting anything for the money.
I keep asking this question and never get an answer. What was the final cost of the terminal renovation project?. Come Mr Anderson you are paid an astronomical salary (forgive the pun) to answer these questions, so please deliver!.
IDIOCRACY from a new government and the CIAA, that’s gonna look really well with the opening for tourists … ( just as dangerous as Kabul Airport )
Looks like the new Government can’t come u- with anything proper ( like COVID regulations)
so let’s just mess everyone around with the well designed parking lot at the airport .
Why do we always have to be first? There is not another airport i know of that is changing drop off to 30m.
they have to recoup the budget overrun on the new airport somehow. no need to reinvent the wheel, let the average joe shoulder it.
If this is a legitimate concern, the parking areas need to be renovated. Move short term parking and combine it with long term parking and have some payment centres outside for them.
Use the current employee and short term parking lots and build two, three lanes with a covered area for waiting passengers.
There is nothing excellent about not having a curb side pick up and drop off area.
This should appeal to someone in the airport authority or cabinet as the construction of these two 300 meter lanes would cost 2-3 Million dollars, maybe even be able to stretch it to $5m.
Looks like the new Government and the Airport Authority are well aware ,of the Danger
The BTLF ( BoddenTown Liberation front ) and the WBFF (West Bay Freedom fighters) pose
😂😂😂😂😂😂
This is incompetence of a very high order – even for the CIAA, which has had a rotten public image for years. What on earth were they thinking? Were they thinking? CAN they think?
Firstly, the greatest risk to life near the airport is being run over by a taxi.
Secondly, a terrorist intent on blowing up a truck in the airport terminal is not going to be overly concerned about getting a ticket for using the taxi lane.
Thirdly, this is complete garbage and everyone knows it. CIAA have a little self respect and just tell the truth; it’s about milking travelers out of a few extra bucks.
Lastly, this is going to be a complete farce and the carpark is going to be gridlocked.
This is utter bs. Who for a second believe that rerouting drop off traffic through the short-term parking will be done so smoothly that you will be in and out in under five minutes?! Come on, why is it that everything we do is so half-a$$?????
You just spent millions (and over budget) doing this airport. And you didn’t know about this “new requirement” at all, back then???!! Please. The incompetence is thick over there.
This isn’t nothing more than a deliberate act, that will result is some well greased deal for the old buddy system.
Do any of our government “leaders” share in this graft?
someone please start a petition
Money grab, plain and simple. The suggestion it is for security is an utter joke and insult our intelligence. Who in the heck is going to blow up Cayman Airport…pathetic.
Perhaps they can show us a copy of this “regulation”?
You can make your own rules, no need to invent inexistent ones to justify your silly decissions.
Or perhaps you do not understand that those recommendations about safety distance to terminal buildings are for parked or unattended vehicles, otherwise no known airport, neither in the US nor in Europe (including the UK), would be “safe”.
This is either greed or lack of knowledge and planning capabilities (or them all).
What I’m hearing is that people will stop traffic down by the rental car places and have the travel hop in or out down there, just creating a roadblock at the crosswalk.
It will not make me pay for parking.
Nonsense. There are loads of major airports like heathrow and in the USA where you can drive up and drop off within 30m of the terminal
“Stupid is as stupid does.”
Imagine this: friends coming to visit (when the border is really open), it is raining, they get soaked getting from the plane to immigration. There are several plans that arrived around the same time so the line is very long and they wait 2-3 hours to get through immigration, they pick up their luggage and get through customs, then they have to walk outside in the pouring rain to get in their friend’s car. Soaking wet, long wait, dragging luggage to the car…hey welcome to Cayman where we want to get your trip started with a great experience. NOT
It would be useful to know if the ‘international requirement’ is an advisory, a ‘best practice’ or a legal requirement and if we don’t do it, is there any downside, and even if we do have to do it surely any changes in legislation would have a phase in period.
Good thing my suv can go over the kerb in the parking lot.
WTF?
If this is change is due to an international rule they have to implement why wasn’t it factored in when the airport was redesigned? They could have made a slip road 30m from the door for pick up and drop offs, or made the short term parking easier to enter and leave by having extra gates and ticket machines that actually worked. I don’t believe the “international security requirement” nonsense.
Taxi racket at it again.
At Denver Airport, they have a pickup and dropoff zone that is well organized. There is a FREE short term “wait zone” where all vehicles (private, limos, etc) wait until they have to pick people up. So give some more Island peeps a job directing vehicles coming in to drop off and pick up. Make the experience safe, convenient, and POSITVE for passengers. I cant see my 88 year old mother walking from the short term parking to the terminal, crossing through traffic lanes in the heat, or pouring rain, to get to the terminal. Someone is making these rules up to justify their job. This is absolutely absurd. Toronto airport has millions of passengers through it and has curbside drop off and pick up.
This is just ridiculous!!! Get real, it’s not going to work and you all know it won’t!!! I hope you’re all ready to deal with all of the problems and confusion this will cause!!!
“ Officials said that taxis, pre-booked bus operators and limousines have gone through a rigorous airport and public transport screening and licensing process.”……. What a crock…..
Exactly. There are numerous known criminals in that industry. I am not suggesting that should disqualify them from working but it sure as hell means the authorities cannot treat me as less qualified to approach an airport building.
If they cared they would make it 15 mins for drop of and not 5. lol.
The queue alone to get out of the short term parking lot departure gate is going to be more than 5 minutes!
more like 30 min or an hour
Why wasn’t this contemplated in the recent airport redesign? If this is really necessary there should be a covered walkway to a covered parking area.
I landed at AMS in August … still drop off and pick up by the terminal …
I landed at MIA in July … still drop off and pick up by the terminal …
I landed at JFK in June … still drop off and pick up by the Terminal …
I landed at DFW in June … still drop off and pick up by the terminal …
but if I intend to come to Cayman I have to use a TAXI !!! what kind of madness is this ???
Cayman why the hell can’t you just leave some things alone. I have had many private cars drop me in front of terminals in many large countries with larger airports. This is just dumb! We not stupid BoBo.
Perfect scenario:
KY107 arriving from Miami at or after 10pm, loaded with 125+ passengers onboard, POURING rain as pax leave the airport terminal.. I assume in this instance there will be 100+ customer service personnel outside waiting with umbrellas to assist people to their cars?
Kmt. When ya say CIAA board changing again? Kenneth boi? Where the gazette for that is?
caymankind needs to be replaced with what cig is all about rip-off-kind.
great first/last impression for our tourists….zzzz…..thanks for nothing PACT.
security? How is it more secure that i have to go inside to pay when you know very well there is zero percent chance of getting in and out in 5 minutes.
What do we do when it’s pouring rain? There aren’t enough umbrellas for everyone. What about the elderly or those with mobility issues trying to drag their luggage across? And what about those on limited budgets who can’t afford a porter? Not everyone has money to spare. This is just ridiculous. Imagine the impression it is going to have on arriving visitors?
And now you also have wet luggage to deal with when you get to your destination, ridiculous.
What visitors? There will be none.
I once was on my way to 24 hours travel through several airports in different countries…and the starting point was Grand Cayman and it rained when the boarding started and I got all wet with no place to dry my clothes and it was September and summer was over in many places, let alone it was cold on the plane, sitting in wet clothes…
All US airport have drop off and pickup points right outside the terminals. Also the “risk” in Cayman for unvetted vehicles is pretty close to zero. Porters with umbrellas is also laughable. During a down pour and at times when check in for multiple flights will be happening, we are expected to think that 3 umbrellas and porters can help 500+ people? Complete and utter joke of a decision which will cause multiple issues and traffic jams. The final major issue is that the ticket machines are located inside the damn airport rather than in the parking lot where they should be. Uneducated decision makers in positions gained by time served and not by actual qualifications strikes again.
I literally pull up within 10 feet of the door at Houston airport…..both on dropoff level and pickup level. No clue where Government gets this:
“These changes are a necessity in order to comply with International Civil Aviation regulatory requirements that specify that unknown, or ‘unvetted’, vehicles are not permitted to be within 30 meters of any Airport terminal building.”
Here’s a hint, if you have to justify something then you have already lost the initiative. Saying things over and over again doesn’t change the end result! They are really not listening and it shows how screwed up the CIAA really is. A lot of comments and complaints are justified and creating temporary solutions of people using porters and umbrellas doesn’t solve the real issues. It’s wallpapering over the cracks. The problems are still there, they just DON”T want to hear them! I have this image of them all sticking their fingers in their ears and shouting very loud so they don’t have to listen!
THE CIAA doesn’t understand at any real level that they have to give a good guest experience. If they did none of this would have been presented as it has been. They would have approached this from the ground up as “How do we give a good guest experience AND meet the security requirements. Right now they created a solution that meets the stated security requirements and the guest experience is a complete after thought.
The problem is that the paying customers, those that use the airport, are the most important people in the equation and they have completely forgotten this reality. It’s time the new government changed those running CIAA so that there is a completely different mind set used.
Need to pay for that parking lot somehow…
Empty parking lot
More foolishness and red tape to look like they are doing something when they are only making things so much more difficult and they will need more miserable people to enforce the rule! This is not sustainable, nor is it customer friendly! It is making a difficult task more frustrating and stressful!
Idiotic overkill on the part of the CIAA! Inconvenient and unecessary for the size of the airport and number of flights handled.
But they really want to be just like a “Real Airport” ….
The only thing missing is the planes with colorful tails & people in colorful clothing
Another cash grab at the expense of the consumer. Disgusting…
Does this feel that nonsense to anyone?
Last time, i was at Heathrow, they had pick up and drop off outside a terminal building.
plus the suggestion that only vetted vehicles can be allowed to drop off.. Ok the vehicle is vetted but the people inside are not. So if you are terrorist, you book a taxi, fill your bags with guns and bombs and get dropped off directly outside the terminal…
As i say this sounds like nonsense. If i was suspicious, i would think that this was away of ensuring that taxi drivers get more fairs..
👍👍👍
currently in london £5.10 for a friend to pick me up, you now have to park. but 30m so it’s sauté to park in short term but not drive just beyond it…. meanwhile i can drive feet form an active runway with a dimple chain link fence. what a Joke
You can drive straight through that fence if you wish.
Zero charge for guest pick-up at the plane steps? That would be a CaymanKind guest experience. Clear customs in flight and head straight to 6.5 mile beach!
Zion! The cartoon image of some terrorists getting out of the cab with their suitcases while the 80 year old grandma is walked across the road because her family want to see her off is brilliant.
What a pathetic excuse.
This is all about money, for taxi cartel and airport meters.
Just another example of how Cayman is going backwards with arcane rules, all while ignoring poverty, rising crime and social issues.
One MAJOR issue is that the short term parking lot does not “flow”. The turns are very hard to make into the departure lane if coming from the west side of the lot. Also, there is no way that departure gate is going to be able to keep up with the volume.
I just don’t understand this. This “rule” is not in place at any other International airport that I have ever visted.