Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has called for stronger transportation ties with Latin America as Barbados welcomed the arrival of a new interCaribbean Airways aircraft, Spirit of Barbados, at Grantley Adams International Airport on Tuesday.
“I want to say to you that we look forward to also discussing how we can open up Latin America and in particular northeastern Brazil,” Mottley said at the unveiling. “That has significant implications for us not just in terms of tourism, but also in terms of cargo and in Barbados’ ambition to become an agro-processing hub for the southern and eastern Caribbean and northern Latin America.”
The Prime Minister emphasized the need for Barbados to reposition itself as a gateway to the wider Caribbean, pointing to the importance of linkages with the northern region. “Your linkages to the northern Caribbean — to Bahamas, to Turks and Caicos, to Havana in Cuba, to Jamaica — are so important, so that we don’t only operate within the context of the eastern and southern Caribbean, but we claim the entire region as our own.”
She underscored the role of tourism in the Barbadian economy, noting that it contributes “almost one in every two dollars of production” and recalling the economic impact of the COVID-19 shutdown. “We found out the hard way in 2020, that when the tourists stopped coming, all of a sudden the pig farmers didn’t have enough people to buy their pork, and the poultry farmers didn’t have enough people to buy their chicken, and the vegetable farmers and the fruit farmers were not necessarily benefiting from the sales.”
Mottley also highlighted duty-free concessions on kitchen and cooking equipment to support small food businesses and keep tourism’s benefits closer to communities. “What people love about Barbados is the ability to go through every nook and cranny and to engage with Bajans wherever they are and to feel that earthy warmth that is truly Bajan.”
She welcomed interCaribbean Airways’ plans to build a maintenance facility at Grantley Adams International Airport, with hangar construction expected to begin in early 2026.
Lyndon Gardiner, founder of interCaribbean Airways, said the new aircraft symbolizes the strength of the airline’s partnership with Barbados. “Our journey together began during one of the most challenging periods in recent history. In August 2020, we made the decision to expand in the Southern Caribbean. With the support of the Barbadian government, we established operations here, providing essential air links when few alternatives existed.”
Gardiner added that the aircraft serves as “a flying ambassador for Barbados throughout the Caribbean.”
Andrea Franklin, Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), praised the alliance between the airline and the island. “The introduction of the Spirit of Barbados aircraft transcends the simple inauguration of an aircraft into the existing interCaribbean Airways operation. It reflects the strength of the strategic alliance which we as a destination have built with a valued partner.”
Franklin noted that interCaribbean now accounts for nearly 40 percent of regional airline seats into Barbados, providing access to 17 countries and 23 Caribbean cities. “This is a significant contributor to the ease of movement of individuals between Barbados and the other destinations which the airline services from this destination.”
