17 / 86
been ongoing ever since 2003,
when MBJ Airports Limited was
first awarded their 30-year op-
erating concession. When Rafa-
el was appointed CEO in 2015,
his mandate was to take that
growth to the next level.
“We were at a very interesting
point for the airport,” he recalls.
“We were coming of age. We
were about to transition from
a regional airport to a major in-
ternational facility.”
Prior to joining MBJ, Rafael had
been working in the aviation in-
dustry for over 20 years, with
a career spanning the South
Pacific, Australia, Europe, the
United States and Canada. His
previous role was with Airports
Council International (ACI),
where he served as Director
of Economics. He joined MBJ
Airports Limited, because he
was excited by the prospect
of an airport “coming of age,”
and was eager to help guide its
transformation.
One part of that transformation
involves infrastructure. The air-
port had to expand in order to
ensure they had the proper fa-
cilities to accommodate grow-
ing aircraft demand and grow-
ing passenger volume. That
need was obvious, Rafael says
– and MBJ has taken significant
steps towards meeting it, with
more steps on the way.
The other part of the transfor-
mation involves the custom-
er’s experience of the airport,
which MBJ has made it their
mission to improve. They want
to make the airport more than
just a facility that visitors have
to pass through on their way in
and out of the country. Instead,
they want the airport to be an
“integral part of the tourism
offering.” They want it to be “a
cornerstone of the Jamaican ex-
perience.”
“We want to make it feel like as
soon as someone steps off the
aircraft, their holiday begins,”
Rafael says.
“That means ensuring the pro-
cesses of the airport are as sim-
ple and expeditious as possi-
ble,” he explains. “For example,
we want to make sure there are
only a few, if any, immigration
BUSINESS WORLD MAGAZINE