NEW YORK, New York — Jetblue Airlines has announced that by July this year, they will be increasing the number of seats between America and Montego Bay by 40 per cent over the July 2019 level, well before the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement follows a high-level meeting led by Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, his senior leadership and JetBlue’s leadership team at their New York City headquarters this week.

Bartlett said the announcement by Jetblue augurs well for the stronger recovery of the sector which was upended by COVID-19.

“We continue to see positive signs of a strong recovery for Jamaica’s tourism and more seats mean more arrivals which ultimately will give us more earnings for the country. Jamaica is perhaps the most connected destination in the region, and this has helped us to attract more visitors. We have been focused and always looking ahead even in the midst of the worst of the pandemic. We are now reaping the rewards,” said Bartlett.

JetBlue is one of the largest carriers in the United States and has been an airline partner for Jamaica for over a decade.

Director of Tourism, Donovan White, who was among those in attendance at the meeting, was also enthused by the prospects accompanying the increased number of seats.

“We are grateful for our partners like JetBlue who will be integral in our recovery strategy, so this is very good news for the destination. JetBlue has reinforced its partnership with Jamaica as a core part of its Caribbean operations. The airline also welcomed the lifting of pre arrival COVID testing and travel authorisation which it says has helped with the increase in interest in Jamaica,” said White.

Despite the positive developments, Senior Advisor and Strategist in the Ministry of Tourism, Delano Seiveright noted that airlines, like many other industries are struggling with labour shortages, global supply logistics chain disruptions and inflation.

“For one many of our airlines simply do not have enough pilots, flight attendants and ground crew to effectively meet the surging demand, a direct result of the widespread dislocations caused by the Covid19 pandemic. This is in some respects limiting the ability of our travel partners to effectively respond to the huge demand for travel and is unfortunately contributing to higher prices. Some airline partners shared that they want to put on more flights but simply cannot, due to labour shortages and other pandemic related issues,” Seiveright noted.