MONTEGO BAY, St James — Canada’s newest airline, Swoop, a low-cost carrier that has only been in existence for six months, started its first international flight from its John C Munro Hamilton International Airport hub, just outside Toronto, with the arrival of flight 672 at 12:14 pm into Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport yesterday.

“We have taken an aggressive approach to attracting new flights into Jamaica as it is absolutely critical to the growth of the tourism sector and setting up 2019 to be an even greater year. Additionally, we have given much attention to Canada in recent times as we inherited a market in decline when we entered office in 2016. We have stabilised and are now on a growth path and have 42,400 more seats out of Canada alone for this high season,” Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett pointed out.

Bartlett was joined by Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica Laurie Peters; Mayor of Montego Bay Homer Davis; senior advisor of communications at Swoop Karen McIsaac; Director of Tourism Donovan White; senior advisor/strategist Delano Seiveright; President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Omar Robinson; Head of MBJ Airports Ltd Dr Rafael Echevarne, and other officials.

President & CEO, John C Munro Hamilton International Airport in Canada, Cathie Puckering, noted that “Swoop began operation in June with domestic service and has since added US destinations to Florida and Las Vegas in the fall.

“This connection between Hamilton and Montego Bay is a special one as both airports are part of the Vantage Airport Group. This new service is sure to excite Canadians eager to escape the cold winter months ahead,” she said.

Seiveright noted that “Swoop offers fares starting as low as CAD$150 each way between Hamilton and Montego Bay with flights operating on Wednesdays and Sundays only”.

“It is noteworthy that a significant number of passengers on the inaugural flight represented our Diaspora, as they took advantage of the deals from early,” Seiveright said.

A raft of new flights have come into the Sangster International Airport in recent months including inaugural flights by Eurowings from Munich, Germany; Pegas Fly/Nordwind from Moscow, Russia; and several American and Canadian carriers with flights from several North American cities.

Established in 2018, Swoop is Canada’s leading ultra-low-cost airline, independently operated as part of the WestJet Group of companies, offering point-to-point scheduled service to 14 destinations in Canada, the US, Mexico and the Caribbean. Swoop operates a modern fleet of six Boeing 737-800 aircraft, equipped with in-seat power and Wi-Fi connectivity. A total of 10 aircraft are expected in operation by the end of 2019.