Turboprops, Tailwinds and U.S. Travelers: Caribbean Aviation Grows Steadily in 2025

The Caribbean skies are busier than ever, as new data shows the region’s aviation market continuing its post-pandemic rebound with steady gains across both business and scheduled flight operations. From January through July 2025, total Caribbean flight movements reached 329,903, a 3.4 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The numbers reflect a strong appetite for regional and international connectivity, with business aviation leading the way.

According to the latest WINGX Global Market Tracker, business aviation saw 133,534 flights over the seven-month period, climbing 3.6 percent year-over-year. Scheduled flights also held their ground, logging 196,369 movements, a 3.2 percent increase, across 144 airports. A total of 381 airports were active across the region, supporting this diverse and increasingly complex aviation ecosystem.

Business Aviation Outpaces Scheduled Growth

The Caribbean’s business aviation sector is evolving into a connectivity powerhouse, averaging over 4,300 flights per week and servicing more than 9,400 unique airport pairs, more than four times the number of routes served by scheduled carriers. With only 2,065 unique airport pairs, scheduled airlines continue to offer strong coverage, but business aviation’s flexibility remains unmatched.

The most trafficked business aviation route? The Bahamas–United States corridor, which accounted for 26,357 flights, nearly 20 percent of the region’s total business aviation activity. That route posted 7 percent growth over the same period last year. Domestic flights within The Bahamas followed with 6,803 business movements, reflecting the enduring importance of intra-island access.

Meanwhile, emerging routes are gaining traction. Flights between the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico jumped 33 percent to 1,078, while Anguilla–U.S. operations rose by 18 percent to 787 flights. These figures highlight the Caribbean’s enduring appeal among U.S.-based travelers and the rising demand for bespoke, flexible travel options.

𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝

Juan Santamaría International Airport (MROC) in Costa Rica led business aviation activity with 14,241 movements, though growth remained modest at 2 percent. Lynden Pindling International Airport (MYNN) in The Bahamas was close behind with 12,558 flights and a stronger 6 percent year-on-year increase. Saint Barth’s Executive Airport (TFFJ) saw the most dramatic rise, up 38 percent with 6,276 movements, confirming its growing allure among high-end travelers.

On the scheduled operations front, Punta Cana International Airport (MDPC) in the Dominican Republic emerged as the busiest hub, recording 20,530 flights, a 10 percent year-over-year increase. MROC in Costa Rica also posted 11,429 scheduled flights, matching Punta Cana’s growth rate of 10 percent.

𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬: 𝐁𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

Turboprops remain the workhorses of Caribbean aviation, racking up 84,460 flights and posting a 4 percent gain. Their range, efficiency and ability to operate in short-runway conditions make them ideal for island-hopping and regional charters.

Among jets, Super Midsize aircraft showed the fastest growth, climbing 9 percent to 13,198 flights. Heavy Jets followed with 9,351 movements, also up 8 percent. These figures suggest a shift toward larger aircraft, likely reflecting both higher-end clientele and longer-range demand from North America.

However, not all segments fared as well. Light Jets saw a 3 percent decline, while Entry-Level Jets dropped 13 percent, indicating shrinking demand for smaller-capacity aircraft in the region’s business aviation market.

𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞

Air Century SA topped the list of business aviation operators with 1,220 flights, registering 2 percent growth. However, the most striking gains came from smaller, agile players: Aerobell Air Charter expanded by 25 percent, while Aereo Ruta Maya surged 75 percent. This performance signals strong demand across niche and regional markets, with newer operators finding space in a diversifying competitive environment.

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡

From legacy airports to boutique private operators, the Caribbean aviation market in 2025 is expanding at a controlled but optimistic pace. With U.S. travelers driving much of the business aviation growth and regional operators leaning into connectivity gaps, the sector appears well-positioned to handle increased demand heading into peak tourism months.

As infrastructure keeps pace and route networks evolve, the Caribbean’s airspace may well become a model for how small, tourism-dependent economies can harness aviation innovation and flexibility to sustain both economic resilience and regional mobility.

𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘟 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 – 𝘞𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘉𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯, 𝘞𝘦𝘦𝘬 31

𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵 6, 2025 – 𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘹-𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.𝘤𝘰𝘮

𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘞𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘟

𝘞𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘟 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 2011 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘨, 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺, 𝘞𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘟 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭-𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘖𝘌𝘔𝘴, 𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯-𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘹-𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.𝘤𝘰𝘮.

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