A fight is brewing over how visitors will land on Ambergris Caye, Belize's most popular island. The government is floating a new airport in the island's north that could open around 2030, with a longer runway for regional jets and private charters. Local tourism operators and the town council are pushing back hard against any closure of the John Greif II Municipal Airport, the small airstrip that has handled arrivals into San Pedro for decades.
At a meeting of the San Pedro chapter of the Belize Tourism Industry Association on 2 November, held at the Sunbreeze Hotel, stakeholders voted against the new airport proposal. Their argument: money earmarked for a new facility would do more good going into everyday infrastructure the island badly needs — traffic congestion, waste collection, wastewater treatment, housing, healthcare and public safety.
Tropic Air CEO Maximillian Greif was among the loudest critics. Moving flights roughly two hours north, he said, would upend the businesses and community built around the current airstrip. He also dismissed government suggestions that airlines fly larger 70-seat ATR 72 aircraft on the 15-minute hop from the mainland — the economics simply don't work on a route that short. He noted flight operations at San Pedro are already down 17% over eight years thanks to efficiency gains, and warned the island risks following Tulum, Mexico into an overtourism downturn.
The San Pedro Town Council made its position official on 3 November, voting to oppose closing the existing airport and pledging to lobby the government directly. Central government insists nothing has been decided. Prime Minister John Briceño, who holds the civil aviation portfolio, said replacing the airport has been on the table since 2020 because the current site cannot be expanded to take bigger planes, and the Inter-American Development Bank is studying how and where a replacement could work. Area Representative Andre Perez agreed public consultation must happen, though many at the meeting felt his stance stayed deliberately vague.
For travellers, none of this changes anything yet — flights into San Pedro continue as normal, and no closure decision exists. But if you've visited Ambergris Caye before, you'll understand the stakes. Landing at the downtown airstrip puts you minutes from the beach bars, dive shops and hotels that make San Pedro what it is. A terminal hours north by road would reshape how the island works for everyone, from backpackers on Tropic Air puddle-jumpers to divers heading to the Blue Hole. Watch this space: the IDB study results will be the moment the debate gets real.
