Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and US Ambassador to Jamaica, Donald Tapia along with a raft of officials welcomed the commencement of daily nonstop American Airlines service between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport on Thursday (Nov 21).

American Airlines flight #1349 arrived at 10:40 am with passengers and crew being treated to a warm welcome by officials, complete with a performance by a Jamaican mento band.

Ambassador Tapia said: “The US and Jamaica have had a great and long history of diplomatic relations which includes strong airlift arrangements. Today is another representation of the strong ties between both countries which will positively impact Jamaica’s tourism and our largest carrier.”

Meanwhile, Bartlett welcomed the reintroduced service, noting: “The Northeast region continues to be a strong performer for us as a destination in terms of arrivals. For the summer period, May to September 2019, the US market region recorded a 9.3 per cent increase in arrivals with 785,055 visitors compared to the 718,531 visitors during the corresponding period last year.

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[naviga:li]US Ambassador to Jamaica Donald Tapia (l) was part of the occasion on Thursday (Nov 21)[/naviga:li]

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During that period, the Northeast outpaced the overall US market and saw an increase of 13.3 per cent during the same period. While stopover arrivals from the US also recorded an increase of 11.1 per cent for September 2019, the Northeast again outperformed the national average and grew by 18.1 per cent. This reintroduced service augurs well for us as a destination.”