MONTEGO BAY, St James — Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States of America Audrey Marks is looking ahead to increased trade opportunities between the two countries now that there is a direct flight out of Connecticut.

“For the wider purpose of increasing trade between Jamaica and the USA, this is also a very important flight because we can start looking for additional connectivity to export goods and services in the US,” she told the Jamaica Observer after disembarking the inaugural Spirit Airlines flight in Montego Bay last Thursday.

The flight was welcomed by stakeholders in the tourism sector who pointed to the impact it will have on Jamaica’s main foreign exchange earner. The United States is Jamaica’s main trading partner and for Marks, who is based in Washington DC, more routes and direct flights are generally “always a good thing for us”.

“Our [tourism] slogan is that we are the heartbeat of the world. We also need to be one of the most well-connected places in the world, and this is helping that goal,” she said.

She also spoke of the flight’s importance to Jamaicans who, like her, live abroad.

“For our Diaspora this is a very important event in terms of a direct flight from Hartford, Connecticut, to Montego Bay,” she said.

“It’s a historic occasion for the many Jamaican-Americans in Connecticut, over 60,000. For many years they have been migrating there, from the 1930s/40s from the original farm work programme, and for many years they had to be going through other states to come to Jamaica, or connecting. Especially for the older Jamaican Americans, this is very convenient,” she stated.

Shirley Surgeon, a Jamaican who now sits on the Hartford City Council, was also on the flight and agreed with Marks.

“This is something for the Diaspora that means more economic development, especially for Connecticut. A lot of the north-east region of the city in the states of Connecticut, Vermont, Boston, all that area, this is economic development for them because now you’re saving money. You can jump on a flight and just come home in a couple of hours,” she remarked.

Surgeon, who is the third Jamaican ever to be elected in the city of Hartford, said she was on the inaugural flight as a symbolic gesture on behalf of Jamaicans who have long yearned for such easy access.

The flight will operate four times each week, between the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay and Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Connecticut.

Some 160 passengers arrived on the inaugural flight, many of them Jamaicans returning to the island for the holidays.

Among those welcoming them and the crew was director of tourism at the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) Donovan White who, like Marks, pointed to the significance of the event.

“In terms of deepening or broadening the impact of our largest market, which is the New York tri-state area, this is a welcome opportunity for us to add more seats, four times a week. That’s a lot of seats coming in from Connecticut and I think it will be extremely successful given just the level of excitement that has already been displayed for it,” he said.

President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association Robin Russell, who was also on hand to welcome the flight, also spoke of its convenience and significance.

“As you know, anything in the tri-state area is critical — that’s where we get most of our guests from — so any flights we get out of that area are very welcomed. We know that we will do well with it,” he told the Observer.