KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The passengers and crew of American Airlines flight AAL 1589, which recently landed in Jamaica from Miami, were pleasantly surprised when they received a personal welcome from Prime Minister Andrew Holness. 

“AAL 1589, this is the Prime Minister of Jamaica, welcoming you to Jamaica,” Holness said. 

The welcome was met with a lusty “Thank You!” from the aircraft’s seemingly surprised pilot.                               

Holness took the opportunity after watching the aircraft touch down at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston, during his official tour of the facility’s state-of-the-art air traffic control tower on April 19.

The structure and the newly-constructed tower at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay were undertaken at a cost $2.57 billion.       

Holness commended the air traffic controllers “for their sterling service to Jamaica in ensuring that our airspace is safely and securely managed, and for doing it in an efficient way”.

“Air traffic service is critical to Jamaica. It supports all the other industries, in particular tourism, business in general and Jamaicans who want to travel to and from Jamaica; and it’s a critical part of our overall development,” he added.

The prime minister underscored the Government’s commitment to developing Jamaica’s aviation services. 

This, he pointed out, was evident in the extensive modernisation and upgrading programme undertaken by the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority.