In St. James, Jamaica, MBJ Airports Limited (MBJ), the operator of the island’s world-famous Sangster International Airport (SIA), has brought together airport stakeholders to celebrate the fourth annual Customer Experience (CX) Excellence Awards, a ceremony that doubled as a tribute to the airport’s 23 years of operation and its extraordinary recovery from one of the most challenging periods in its modern history.
The event, held in the wake of the widespread disruption caused by Hurricane Melissa in late 2025, centered on a core message that has guided the airport through crisis and growth: human connection and cultural commitment remain the most powerful drivers of customer service excellence, even as technology reshapes air travel. Speaking to a room of award nominees, airport employees and partner organization representatives, MBJ Chief Executive Officer Shane Munroe emphasized that no automated system or artificial intelligence can replicate the unique value of on-the-ground teams that shape millions of visitors’ first impressions of Jamaica each year.
Munroe framed customer experience not as a task limited to a single corporate department, but as a shared responsibility woven into the identity of every person connected to the airport. “Every agency, every stakeholder, every airport employee who passes through these doors carries the reputation of this airport and of the entire country of Jamaica,” he told attendees. He noted that the 2025 hurricane season served as a critical test of this shared culture, and the airport community passed with flying colors. “What defined us was not the challenge itself, but how we responded. We stayed focused, we supported each other, and we kept the passenger at the center of everything we do,” Munroe said. He added that the awards honor both measurable performance and a core mindset of ownership that has kept SIA the leading airport hub in the Caribbean.
The evening’s guest speaker, Ryan Matthew, corporate director of human resources at Sandals Resorts International, brought decades of aviation and hospitality experience to his remarks, having spent more than 10 years in regional airport operations management at the former Air Jamaica. Drawing on a memorable past interaction with a frustrated passenger, Matthew argued that exceptional service is defined not by never making mistakes, but by how teams respond when expectations go unmet. “Service has never been about what people may say to you in their worst moment. It is about how you make them feel in that moment, how you recover when expectations are not met, how you restore trust, how you turn frustration into relief,” he explained.
Matthew echoed Munroe’s stance on the growing importance of human service in an increasingly automated travel landscape, noting that while new digital tools have boosted efficiency, they have also left many passengers feeling more anxious. “When the journey becomes more automated, empathy becomes a differentiator,” he said. He also reminded award recipients that recognition comes with responsibility: “The true power of recognition is not in the trophy. It is the example that remains after the applause is over.”
This year’s awards cycle drew more than 45 qualified nominations, sourced both from internal management recommendations and feedback submitted directly by passengers through SIA’s customer portal. A total of 29 individual winners were recognized across seven core award categories, including the MBJ Choice Award, Unsung Heroes, Teamwork Makes the Dream Work, Impression Makers, Caring Support, Voice of the Customer, and Safe and Sound. A new, special award category—the Resilience and Recovery Award—was created this year to honor 13 partner companies whose rapid collaborative response cleared the way for SIA’s timely, safe reopening just weeks after Hurricane Melissa made landfall.
First place individual winners included Oliver England of the Jamaica Tourist Board (Impression Makers), Demoy Lawson of Menzies Aviation (Unsung Heroes), Deborah Bernard of the Jamaica Tourist Board (Caring Support), Julian Williams of the Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (Safe and Sound), and Lenville Walters of Guardsman Group (Teamwork Makes the Dream Work).
Closing out the ceremony, MBJ Operations Manager Nicole Hall reflected on the unprecedented disruption brought by Hurricane Melissa in October 2025, when the storm damaged infrastructure and displaced communities across northwestern Jamaica. What stood out most in the recovery effort, Hall said, was the extraordinary dedication of airport staff who showed up to work ready to serve even after their own homes were damaged or destroyed by the storm. “They were here, and they gave 100 per cent,” she said, adding that the response laid bare the true character and capability of the broader SIA community.
Hall noted that the team’s collective resilience not only restored airport operations far faster than projected, but also preserved passenger confidence in SIA as the most reliable gateway to the Caribbean. “Your resilience and determination ensured the recovery of our operations and the preservation of passenger confidence in SIA as a reliable gateway to the Caribbean. The effort went beyond duty. It reflected pride, ownership, and a shared commitment to something greater than any one organisation,” she said. She closed with a call to action for all stakeholders to continue centering human connection in every passenger interaction: “Let us continue to strengthen our partnerships, empower our teams, and remain intentional about every interaction, because in the end, it is these interactions that define us.”