Brac Airport Getting Facelift

The Charles Kirkconnell International Airport, formerly known as Gerrard-Smith Airport on Cayman Brac will begin an upgrade to its facility in two phases. Phase One will include an east-side expansion and renovations to its existing building, almost doubling its current size. Work will start in August, concluding sometime in 2013. Phase Two will expand the west side of the building and will be started at a later date when funds from CIAA become available.


The expansion will enable proper baggage screening equipment to be housed, enabling direct flights to and from the US. As it stands currently, passengers traveling to and from the Brac must stop in Grand Cayman first.

Adaptive Divers Come to the Brac

Dive Pirates, a not-for-profit organization from Houston, Texas brought a group of divers with varying degrees of special physical needs to Cayman Brac for a week scuba diving.  Eels On Wheels, another adaptive dive group from Austin, Texas visited recently as well with 76 divers. These dive clubs teach people with quadriplegia, paraplegia, and amputations to dive.


The Department of Tourism has been steadily increasing its support of such groups as Cayman has a well-earned reputation of catering to individuals with physical disabilities. Diving brings a much welcomed freedom to these divers. “For the past seven years we’ve heard from our recipients the joy in getting out of a wheelchair and swimming underwater over shipwrecks and coral reefs off the shores of Cayman Brac,” said Sophie Wimberley, co-founder of the Dive Pirates.  “We also have ten of our past recipients joining us on this year’s trip, which is a testament to our success that we’ve introduced them to a sport that they can enjoy for years to come.”