Cayman Airways Expands Check-in Options to Scrap Delays

Cayman Airways will unveil an expanded passenger check-in system in Grand Cayman in the next few weeks in a move designed to eliminate long check-in lines at the airport, according to John Wrightington, vice president, commercial.

“The new system will open up locations other than the city ticket office and the airport where our passengers can check in and obtain boarding passes,” Wrightington said. “Because all of Grand Cayman has Wi-Fi access, the airline can set up check-in locations in schools, auditoriums and shopping centers when needed,” he said.

Although passengers arriving at the airport with luggage will still have to check their luggage inside the airport as there is no curbside baggage check-in allowed, “those lines will move very quickly because of fewer people checking in there,” according to Wrightington.

The carrier will share its passenger manifests with many of the hotels on the island and will deliver boarding passes to hotel guests flying out of Grand Cayman the following day.

The new system is partially a result of the occasionally chaotic pre-Hurricane Dean evacuation from the Cayman Islands in mid-August, where long lines at the airport were the norm in the days leading up to the storm.

Cayman Airways has instituted a new hurricane fare policy, which offers a standard, one-way, economy-class fare during emergencies: Miami ($170), Tampa ($190) and Kingston, Jamaica ($120), excluding taxes, in the event of an evacuation prior to a hurricane.