FlyMontserrat Featured in International Aviation Magazine

FlyMontserrat has been placed in the international spotlight in a major feature published in the September 2026 edition of Airliner World magazine.

The six-page feature, titled “Montserrat’s Emerald Express”, explores the history, operations and continued importance of the locally based airline to Montserrat.

Aviation writer Chris Smith travelled aboard FlyMontserrat between Antigua and Montserrat and interviewed the airline’s founder and chief executive officer, Captain Nigel Harris. The article features several photographs of the airline’s aircraft and operations at the John A. Osborne Airport.

The magazine describes FlyMontserrat as the island’s principal connection to the outside world and highlights the airline’s survival through hurricanes, volcanic activity and other challenges that have affected aviation and access to Montserrat.

Harris, now 80, has more than 20,000 hours of experience as a commercial pilot. He told the magazine that 13 airlines had failed before his company was established as Montserrat Airways in 1988.

Having continued operating when several other carriers were unable to do so, FlyMontserrat has become Montserrat’s de facto national airline, apart from the period when volcanic activity left the island without a functioning airport.

The airline currently employs 16 full-time staff and operates Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander aircraft. Its passenger traffic includes residents, members of the diaspora and visitors travelling between Montserrat and Antigua.

During the peak travel period from December to Easter, the airline can operate as many as 30 movements per day, compared with six to 10 during the quieter months. It also provides private charters to destinations across the region.

The feature examines the particular demands of operating from the John A. Osborne Airport, where the 1,946-foot runway is surrounded by elevated and undulating terrain.

FlyMontserrat offers passengers a baggage allowance of 23 kilogrammes, although the size of the aircraft and the short runway can make baggage management challenging.

“We manage, but sometimes excess bags have to follow on,” Harris told the magazine.

The article also highlights the airline’s role in providing emergency medical evacuations. According to Harris, FlyMontserrat is the only air ambulance operator providing medical evacuations from the island, sometimes as frequently as once a week.

However, the service does not currently receive government funding, despite the cost of operating emergency flights from Montserrat to Antigua.

Former premier and current Member of the Legislative Assembly Donaldson Romeo was among the passengers on the writer’s flight to Montserrat. Romeo told Smith that securing more affordable transport links and financial support for medical evacuations remained priorities for him.

The future of the airline’s fleet was also addressed. Harris said the rising cost of maintaining the ageing Islander aircraft means they are approaching the end of their economic life.

“The Islanders are already beyond economic viability,” Harris said, pointing to a recent US$80,000 bill for overhauling one set of landing gear.

The airline is considering the Tecnam P2012 Traveller as a potential replacement. The Italian-built twin-engine aircraft has short take-off and landing capabilities suited to Montserrat’s runway and is already operating at challenging airports elsewhere in the Caribbean.

Smith described the 18-minute flight from Antigua as offering striking views of Montserrat’s green hills and mountainous landscape. He also noted the social nature of travelling aboard the small aircraft, where passengers and crew regularly know one another.

The feature concludes that FlyMontserrat is more than a commercial airline, given the island’s dependence on reliable air access.

“At the core of this little-known airline is an adaptability that mirrors the spirit of Montserrat itself,” Smith wrote. “For those who proudly call this volcanic outcrop home, air connectivity is not a luxury but a condition of survival.”