Piarco International Airport to close ground-floor lounge, introduce “All Gates” system

Trinidad and Tobago: Piarco International Airport will remove its domestic departure lounge on the ground floor and introduce a unified “All Gates” system from Friday, 24th April 2026.

The Airport Authority of Trinidad and Tobago has announced that domestic passengers will use the same gate as the international passengers. Along with this they have decided to redirect all the departing passengers to a unified “All Gates” system.

The authorities have taken initiative to transform the airport experience and make it according to the global standards.

The Airport Authority of Trinidad and Tobago said that this approach will streamline passenger processing and will help in supporting a more seamless travel experience.

With this development, domestic passengers can access the duty free shopping area but they cannot purchase items on a duty free basis. In contrast, there will be some retailers who will provide duty paid items that can be purchased by passengers travelling domestically.

According to the AATT, domestic passengers will have a wider range of retail and dining options. Moreover the travellers will have the convenience of exploring an expanded mix of stores, restaurants and duty paid shopping.

The Airport authority have also made upgrades to their centralised security checkpoint which will benefit the passengers and make their travel hassle free. The system has been made more efficient with the addition of lanes and advanced screening equipment to ease congestion.

This shift has been made by the airport authority in order to modernise operations and improve efficiency at the county’s main airport while still ensuring continuing compliance with international civil aviation standards. This efficiency was also needed mainly because the domestic travel demand remains steady along the Trinidad and Tobago airbridge.

Security guidelines were issued by the AATT noting that the travellers are advised to take note of the 3-1-1 rule when approaching the Security Checkpoint.

According to the AATT, the changes are being implemented in collaboration with the Tobago House of Assembly and Caribbean Airlines, which handles the domestic airbridge, as well as other stakeholders.

The Acting chief executive officer of Caribbean Airlines Varma Khillawan reconfirmed about the airline’s commitment to the domestic airbridge.