And switching gears, this past weekend, travelers were again greeted by extremely long lines at the PGIA, and, once again, it was strongly suggested that the lines were caused by the newly instated mandatory traveler's insurance. There are reports that tourists have been complaining that they would spend sometimes up to an hour after landing because of having to purchase the insurance.
But the Director of the BTB, Evan Tillett, said that things are being blown out of proportion. He explained to us that it wasn't the insurance lines that were long and said the reason the airport seems so crowded is that it's just too small. He told us that there are plans to increase its capacity, but for now, it's all about making sure the tourists are comfortable, or as close to it as one can be in a line of epic proportions.
Evan Tillett, Director, BTB
"My first question to you: when you land at Miami International Airport, you always have long lines, depending on the time you land and so long lines in terms of travel particularly in covid times is a part of the norm. In Belize what we need to do is to prove the visitor experience in terms of the process through the international airport. I came in last week Sunday and there were no lines at the insurance section of the checkpoints going into the airport and so I can tell you those long lines at the airport were there prior to the implementation of the insurance program and so what we have is a capacity issue at the airport. We at the BTB are doing our jobs in trying to build the air route connectivity to Belize. We are focusing on Europe, on regional carriers, on building additional routes through the American market, but what you have is a capacity issue at the airport. If we are going to solve the issue there has to be investment in the airport to improve the situation where people aren't on the tarmac. We have to improve the situation where the processing time becomes quicker. That is what we need to do and we need collaboration between the public and the private sector in order to get that done."
"The insurance, a lot of people now are coming in with the insurance already bought, so that is not the issue. The issue is just the processing time. When you have 23 up to 30 flights on the ground within a very small window, then it will create bottlenecks and what we need to do is try and solve it. I understand that the airport should be working on some solutions to the issue, but it won't come immediate and so what we have done through the BTB is to basically try to accommodate people in terms of those people in the line. We have given out free water today, we have added more concierge people to inform people of what is happening. Trust me, you won't miss your flight, you won't be delayed in getting to your airport, there are bathroom facilities in the airport that you can use once you get in and so if you make people comfortable, then the experience is much better."
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