Sir Charles Kirkconnell International Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Location | Cayman Brac | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 8 ft / 2 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 19°41′13″N79°52′58″W / 19.68694°N 79.88278°W /19.68694; -79.88278 | ||||||||||
| Website | caymanairports | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  CYB Location in the Cayman Islands Show map of Cayman Islands CYB CYB (Caribbean) Show map of Caribbean | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Sources: Cayman Islands AIP[1] GCM[2] Google Maps[3] | |||||||||||
Sir Captain Charles Kirkconnell International Airport (IATA:CYB,ICAO:MWCB) is an airport servingCayman Brac,Cayman Islands. It is one of the hubs forCayman Airways with flights toOwen Roberts International Airport onGrand Cayman, andEdward Bodden Airfield onLittle Cayman. It is the only airport on Cayman Brac.
The runway is on the southwestern end of Cayman Brac, and parallels the south shoreline. Approaches and departures are over the water. The Cayman Bracnon-directional beacon (Ident:CBC) is located 1.0 nautical mile (1.9 km) off the approach threshold of Runway 27.[4]
In 2012, the airport was renamed Charles Kirkconnell International Airport, in memory of Captain Charles Leonard Kirkconnell, a prominent local businessman with strong ties to the Sister Islands.[5] Its previous name was Gerrard-Smith International Airport.[6][5]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Cayman Airways | Grand Cayman,Miami |
| Cayman Airways Express | Grand Cayman,Little Cayman |
| Island Air | Charter:Grand Cayman,Little Cayman |
Cayman Airways currently operatesBoeing 737 MAX 8 jetliner service into the airport with limited flights operated on a less than daily basis nonstop toGrand Cayman as well as a weekly 737-8 nonstop southbound fromMiami whileCayman Airways Express fliesde Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin OtterSTOL capable turboprops andSaab 340B regional turboprops to Grand Cayman with Twin Otter service also being operated to the neighboring island ofLittle Cayman.[7] In addition, according to the Cayman Airways flight schedule the airline is currently operating direct no change of plane 737-8 jet service every Saturday from Cayman Brac toDenver via a stop in Grand Cayman.[8]
In 1965,Cayman Brac Airways (CBA), a subsidiary ofLACSA Airlines, was operating twice weekly round trip service flown with aBeech Model 18 twin prop aircraft on a routing ofGrand Cayman - Little Cayman (flag stop only) - Cayman Brac -Montego Bay.[9] According to the airline's 1 May 1965 timetable, connecting service to Miami via Grand Cayman was offered by LACSA, an airline based inCosta Rica, while additional CBA connecting service toMiami as well as toNew York City was offered byPan Am via Montego Bay.
In 1968, the government of the Cayman Islands purchased a controlling interest in Cayman Brac Airways from LACSA and then formedCayman Airways which operated several different aircraft types over the years between Cayman Brac, Grand Cayman and Little Cayman including theBritten-Norman Trislander commuter three engine prop aircraft, theHawker Siddeley HS 748 twin turboprop and theShort 330 commuter twin turboprop.[10] The first aircraft type to be operated by Cayman Airways into Cayman Brac was theDouglas DC-3 which in 1972 was being used on flights to both Grand Cayman and Little Cayman from the airport.[11] By 1985, Cayman Airways was serving Cayman Brac withBoeing 727-200 jetliners with nonstop flights to Miami three days a week as well as operating 727 and propeller aircraft service to Grand Cayman.[12][13] Other jetliner types previously operated by Cayman Airways over the years into Cayman Brac included theBoeing 737-200,Boeing 737-300,Boeing 737-400 andBoeing 737-800.[14][15]
In the spring and summer of 1978, U.S.-based regional air carrier Red Carpet Airlines was operating nonstop service twice a week between Cayman Brac and theSt. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport (PIE) inFlorida as well as interisland flights nonstop between Cayman Brac and Grand Cayman five days a week, with both services being flown with twin-engineConvair 440 prop aircraft.[16] According to theOfficial Airline Guide (OAG), in December of 1978 Red Carpet Airlines was operatingBritten-Norman Trislander andDouglas DC-3 interisland service from Grand Cayman to Cayman Brac with ten flights a week with two of these flights making an intermediate stop onLittle Cayman (LYB) as well as operating four DC-3 flights a week from St. Petersburg/Clearwater via an intermediate stop inKey West (EYW).[17][18] By the summer of 1980, Red Carpet was operating direct one-stop service twice a week between Cayman Brac andTampa International Airport (TPA) via a stop at Grand Cayman and by the spring of 1981, the airline was operating a weekly nonstop flight to Tampa as well as a weekly direct one-stop service to Tampa via Grand Cayman with all flights being operated with Convair 440 aircraft.[19][20] In the spring of 1982, Red Carpet successor AeroSun International was continuing to operate Convair 440 service between Cayman Brac and Tampa with a once a week roundtrip nonstop flight as well as once a week roundtrip direct one-stop service via Grand Cayman.[21]
Media related toCharles Kirkconnell International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
