Jamaica’s aviation sector scored a spectacular milestone on Saturday with the historic arrival of an American Airlines (AA) flight from Miami, Florida, the first scheduled international commercial jet service, at Ian Fleming International Airport in Oracabessa, St Mary.

Flight 4007, named
— not by chance
— after the fictional James Bond, agent 007 spy thrillers written by Britain’s Fleming, and loved by movie-goers, touched down at 12:15 pm carrying a full load of 71 passengers, 18 of whom were headed for Beaches Ocho Rios at Boscobel.

Not by chance also, the Embraer 175 aircraft was piloted in by Jamaican-born Captain Marc Coley, who hails from Mona, St Andrew, supported by First Officer Christy Shafer.

Shrieks of delight and spontaneous cheers erupted from the large turnout of Jamaicans on hand to greet the passengers disembarking the aircraft, the first of them being St Mary Western Member of Parliament (MP) Robert Montague, the man credited with the original idea of an international airport at Boscobel.

From the grave, if he could speak, the late founder of Sandals and Beaches resorts, Gordon “Butch” Stewart, too, would have been especially pleased at being described as one of the “vision-bearers of the airport”, by Mark Hart, chairman of the Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ), operators of the airport.

“His ultimate dream was what we see happening here today,” said Hart, telling the welcome ceremony that the Sandals brand which Stewart built is as big as Bob Marley, the Jamaican megastar who is currently the toast of the movie world for the One Love biopic now doing the rounds.

Hart commended Stewart’s son, Adam, the current executive chairman of Sandals Resorts International (SRI), for all the work he had done to bring American Airlines to the table, taking up his dad’s shared dream of an international airport that would be a game-changer for the eastern region of the island.

Business and tourism interests are pinning hopes for a big boost in the local economy, with the twice-weekly AA flights coming in on Wednesday and Saturday from Miami International Airport, for which the AAJ had boosted staff to 30.

It was a day of soaring speeches and predictions of great success.

“When a plane lands, opportunities take off,” said Adam Stewart, recalling his father’s support for the project and noting: “Even in death, the power of his vision continues to soar.”

And it gave him “goosebumps to see Bobby Montague disembarking the aircraft as the first passenger”.

Stewart described American Airlines as one of Jamaica’s best friends for decades and thanked the team for the awesome work they did to make the inaugural flight and the 14-year project a reality.

He also had high praise for the late Dudley Beek and his sons, who had followed in their dad’s footsteps as pilots, describing the Beek family as “aviation pedigree”.

Hart spoke of other vision-bearers, mentioning Montague and the late Captain Dudley Beek of whom he said: “The blood of this place was in his veins.”

He confessed to the emotions he felt as a passenger on the historic flight moments before it landed.

“Tears came to my eyes when I saw the people lining the fence [separating them from the runway] to greet the aircraft,” said the AAJ chairman.

American Airlines Managing Director Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Jose Maria Giraldo, predicting success for the venture, said Ian Fleming would benefit from the carrier’s Miami hub from which AA operates 380 flights to 130 destinations in 40 countries.

“This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad,” Montague said, waxing biblical.

“A mile of highway will take you a mile, but a mile of runway will take you to the world,” he added to cheers from the audience.

The MP retraced the history of the Boscobel airport, commended all those who had shared his vision, but lambasted those who had dismissed the idea, even describing the airport as “a white elephant”.

He himself appeared emotional when he recalled Butch Stewart’s support for St Mary, by operating Beaches Boscobel. He remembered that on the first day the resort opened, the main line carrying water to the property broke, depriving it of the precious liquid.

“We sent for all the water trucks in the parish to take water to the hotel, because we were determined that the 300 people from the area who had gotten jobs there must get their jobs,” said Montague, a former minister of transport.

For current Transport Minister Daryl Vaz, “Today is really a huge day for the people of Jamaica and St Mary.” He said a lot of work had gone into realising the inaugural AA flight and he expected a lot more to be done as the project is expanded to attract more airlines.

“Negril, here we come,” Vaz teased, suggesting that the next big aviation project would be in the western Jamaica tourist town.

In his welcoming remarks, AAJ President and CEO Audley Deidrick noted that it was an occasion to behold as “the world’s largest airline has come to the smallest international airport in Jamaica”.

Greetings came from United States Ambassador to Jamaica Nick Perry and St Mary Custos Errol V Johnson. Master of Ceremonies was Debbie Bissoon and cultural ambassador Steve Higgins sang the National Anthem and later
Island in the Sun as well as Jamaica Farewell in honour of Harry Belafonte. Rev Levi Moulton said prayers.