Travel within the Caribbean has always been extremely expensive compared to domestic travel within the United States. Travelers can book a 2,300+ mile flight from Miami to Los Angeles for as low as $100, but a 170-mile flight from Barbados to Grenada could easily cost up to three times as much.
Unfortunately, there are just too many factors which work against inter-Caribbean air travel, making it almost impossible to see low fares like what you’d see within the U.S.
Economies of scale, high airport and country taxes, higher fuel prices, low passenger loads, and fragmentation between different parts of the Caribbean all contribute to tickets within the islands costing a pretty penny.
St. Lucia’s government wants to be the first to change this by trialing lowered airport fees specifically for travelers who depart from or enter the country via its two international airports.
The airport service charge is being reduced by 50% from EC $68 (US $12.58) to EC $34 (US $6.29). In a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister, they said:
“Lowering the airport service charge will benefit the thousands of airline passengers who depart and arrive in Saint Lucia from Caribbean destinations every week.
“Reducing the airport service charge by 50% reaffirms Saint Lucia’s commitment to our shared objective with CARICOM of achieving regional integration, improving regional connectivity and reducing costs for our citizens.”
The reduced fee was put into effect at the start of June 2025, and will run until the end of December 2025.
While this is nowhere near a huge savings on its own, it’s a step in the right direction. Making tickets cheaper would encourage more travelers to visit the island, and the lost airport service charges could easily be made up elsewhere on-island when visitors spend their money.
For this change to really be effective, all Caribbean islands have to come together to re-evaluate their landing and departure taxes and airport fees, and decide how much is worth sacrificing to encourage more connectivity within the region.
The respective tourism ministries and agencies also have to look beyond promoting themselves to the U.S. and Europe, and also cater to making it more affordable and attractive to visit neighbouring Caribbean islands.
As it is, there is already fierce competition, especially in the eastern half of the Caribbean, helping to drive town ticket prices to some extent. However, those gains are still being offset by high airport and country taxes, accounting anywhere from quarter to half of the fare.
Hopefully this first step is one of many towards making Caribbean air travel more affordable.
