JAGS McCartney International Airport , also known as Grand Turk International Airport, is an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

located south of Cockburn Town on

Grand Turk Island Grand Turk Island is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is the largest island in the Turks Islands (the smaller of the two archipelagos that make up the island territory) with . Grand Turk contains the territory's capital, Cockburn T ...

in the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, an overseas territory of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It is the second largest airport in the Turks & Caicos, after

Providenciales International Airport Providenciales International Airport , on the island of Providenciales in the Caicos Islands, is the main international airport serving the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom. It is operated by Turks an ...

History

The airport is named for

James Alexander George Smith McCartney James Alexander George Smith McCartney (30 June 1945 – 9 May 1980), also known as J. A. G. S. McCartney or "Jags" McCartney, was a Turks and Caicos Islander politician. He was the 1st Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands and held th ...

, the Territory's first Chief Minister, who died in a plane crash in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 1980. Bahamas Airways was serving the airport by the late 1950s with weekly flights to

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

via an intermediate stop at

Inagua Inagua is the southernmost district of the Bahamas, comprising the islands of Great Inagua and Little Inagua. The headquarters for the district council are in Matthew Town. History The original settlers were the Lucayan people, who arrived som ...

operated with small

de Havilland Heron The de Havilland DH.114 Heron is a small propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugg ...

prop aircraft. By the early 1960s Bahamas Airways was operating the same routing and weekly schedule with larger

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

prop aircraft. During the mid 1970s, two airlines were operating international flights from Grand Turk including Mackey International Airlines with

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with t ...

propliner service to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

(MIA) with continuing service to

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facer ...

(FLL) three days a week and Turks & Caicos Airways in association with Haiti Air Inter with direct flights to Cap-Haitien, Haiti continuing on

Port au Prince, Haiti Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

operated with

Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial airc ...

commuter prop aircraft. In 1978, Trans-Jamaican Airlines was operating nonstop service once a week to Kingston with

Britten-Norman Trislander The Britten-Norman Trislander (more formally designated the BN-2A Mk III Trislander) is an 18-seat three-engined piston-powered civilian utility aircraft produced in the 1970s and early 1980s by Britten-Norman of Britain. These STOL capable ai ...

prop aircraft. In 1994, Turks and Caicos Airways Ltd., which was based in Grand Turk, was operating flights with Beechcraft 1900C turboprops as well as

Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial airc ...

and

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing ...

prop aircraft with flights from Cap-Haitien, Haiti and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic in addition to local flights in the Turks & Caicos Islands including service from Middle Caicos,

North Caicos North Caicos is the second-largest island in the Turks and Caicos Islands (after Middle Caicos). To the west, the Caicos Cays (the closest is Parrot Cay) link to Providenciales. To the east, it is separated from Middle Caicos by Juniper Hole, a ...

Providenciales Providenciales (known locally as Provo) is an island in the northwest Caicos Islands, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The island has an area of and a 2012 Census population of 23,769. Providenciales is the la ...

, Salt Cay and

South Caicos South Caicos is the seventh-largest island in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Turks and Caicos archipelago, with a land area of . South Caicos is known for excellent fishing, both deep-sea and bone fishing, and scuba diving. South Caicos was former ...

Past scheduled airline jet service

Grand Turk was previously served by several different airlines operating scheduled passenger jet service between the airport and Miami (MIA). In 1979,

Air Florida Air Florida was an American low-cost carrier that operated from 1971 to 1984. In 1975 it was headquartered in the Dadeland Towers in what is now Kendall, Florida in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. Air Florida's IATA code is now used by ...

was operating four flights a week with Boeing 737-100 jets to Miami. By 1984, Air Florida was serving Grand Turk with 737 jets on a "triangle" routing of Miami -

Grand Turk Grand Turk Island is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is the largest island in the Turks Islands (the smaller of the two archipelagos that make up the island territory) with . Grand Turk contains the territory's capital, Cockburn To ...

- Puerto Plata - Miami four days a week. In 1985,

Cayman Airways Cayman Airways is the flag carrier airline of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands. With its head office in Grand Cayman, it operates mainly as an international and domestic scheduled passenger carrier, with cargo services avai ...

was flying

Boeing 727-200 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

service to Miami three times a week Also in 1985,

Atlantic Gulf Airlines Atlantic Gulf Airlines was a regional airline founded by Tom Tepper and Kerry Broaddus in Florida that began operations in October 1983. History Service started with two British-manufactured Vickers Viscount four engine turboprop airliners. A ...

was flying

British Aircraft Corporation The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 19 ...

BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (or BAC-111/BAC 1-11) was an early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-se ...

service nonstop to Miami as well as direct to MIA via a stop in

. By 1989,

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...

(

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...

) was operating nonstop

flights to Miami twice a week. In 1993-1994,

Carnival Air Lines Carnival Air Lines Incorporated was a charter and scheduled airline division of the Carnival Corporation & plc that started in 1988 after Carnival Cruise Lines purchased Pacific Interstate Airlines. It was headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida. ...

was flying

Boeing 727-100 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter f ...

jet service to Miami twice a week via a stop in Providenciales. Also in 1994, Turks and Caicos Airways Ltd., which was based in Grand Turk, was operating

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

nonstops from Miami twice a week in addition to flying turboprop and prop service from several Caribbean islands including local service within the Turks & Caicos Islands (see above).Sept. 15, 1994 Official Airline Guide (OAG) Desktop Flight Guide, North American Edition, Grand Turk flight schedules

Facilities and aircraft

JAGS McCartney has the ability to handle large aircraft, such as

Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its maid ...

and

Airbus A321 The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was the first derivative of the b ...

jets. The airport also houses a restaurant, rental car facilities, and free parking facilities. There is no public transportation on the island. The majority of scheduled airline service originating out of the airport are domestic flights within the Turks and Caicos Islands primarily to

(PLS) where scheduled international passenger jet service operated by a number of airlines is available. However, international and other charter flights are popular during the peak travel season into Grand Turk.

Airlines and destinations

References

External links

Turks and Caicos Islands Government: Civil AviationGrand Turk JAGS McCartney International Airport (GDT) - Visit Turks and Caicos IslandsGrand Turk JAGS McCartney International Airport (MBGT) - AirNav.com
{{authority control Airports in the Turks and Caicos Islands Grand Turk Island Cockburn Town