MONTEGO BAY, St James — Sangster International Airport (SIA), Jamaica’s leading gateway to the world, operated by MBJ Airports Limited, welcomed JetBlue’s direct flights from Raleigh and Newark yesterday.

JetBlue Airlines flights 107 and 549, using Airbus A320 arrived from Newark Liberty Airport (EWR) and Raleigh-Durham International Airport at 1:42 and 2:14 pm, respectively.

Raleigh will operate Saturdays only in November, and twice weekly in December — 19th, 23rd, 26th and 30th (Wednesdays & Saturdays). Newark flights will operate Wednesdays and Saturdays only in November and December 19th, 20th, 26th and 27th (Saturdays & Sundays).

Giselle Cortes, director international airports at JetBlue stated that, “Montego Bay is part of JetBlue’s broader plan to generate cash and capture traffic on new, non-stop routes. We’ve selected routes where our low fares and award-winning experience will be noticed. These new routes solidify our leading position in the Caribbean, grow JetBlue’s New York City presence in Newark and provide an additional connection to the south-east.”

MBJ Airports Limited’s Chief Executive Officer Shane Munroe is also pleased with the addition of this new service, stating, “This is a noteworthy realisation at a time like this and demonstrates the strong appeal of Jamaica as a tourist destination. We welcome the addition of these new routes and look forward to the continued growth of JetBlue operations at MBJ.”

Both flights were met with a water salute from MBJ Emergency Response Service firefighting units, while Jamaican drummers welcomed the arriving passengers.

JetBlue is New York’s home town airline, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan.

JetBlue carries more than 35 million customers a year to 100 cities in the US, Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of 925 daily flights.