The Belize-based regional airline, Tropic Air, is celebrating 40 years of serving the country in Central America.
Launched in 1979 by businessman John Grief III under the name Tropical Air Services Ltd, the airline operated runs between Belize City and San Pedro. The carrier has grown from a 1976 Cessna 172 VP-HDC and two employees to flying over 200 daily scheduled flights with 19 aircraft to 15 destinations in Belize, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala and now employing over 360 people.
Thanking passengers, from the “first pioneering customer who flew with us in 1979 to a rough landing strip in San Pedro” to the hundreds of thousands set to fly with the airline in 2020, John Greif III, president, commented: “From humble beginnings, we have grown to become an international airline and a strong contributor to the growth of Belize. The story of Tropic Air mirrors the story of the growth of our customers, and of tourism in Belize. Of that, we are most proud.”
In the airline’s early days, the company said the runway was made of grass and the “‘terminal’ operated out of a bodega at The Holiday Hotel.”
Tropic Air continued to grow through the 1980s and 90s, adding destinations and terminals within Belize and branching into its first international destinations with its flights to Flores – launched to meet demand from tourists wanting to visit the ancient Maya city of Tikal.
“The mission of Tropic Air for the past 40 years has been to build the tourism industry of Belize with convenient dependable air service throughout the country and beyond. We would not be here today without the pioneering spirit and unwavering support of our colleagues in the Belize tourism industry” said Steven Schulte, Tropic’s CEO. “We help to connect families, fulfil vacation dreams and make business travel easier so that we can all grow and prosper. It’s been a wonderful 40 years, and we look forward to many more.”
In January the airline will add a Beech 1900D twin engine airliner to its fleet and open a new and more spacious terminal in Caye Caulker.
The airline announced the beginning of construction on its new terminal in May 2019, with Grief commenting: “Caye Caulker is one of the pillars of tourism in Belize and a key driver of economic growth. We see enormous growth in tourism to the island, and this new terminal represents a step forward, and a big investment, in the level of comfort for our passengers and visitors to La Isla Cariñosa”
