KINGSTON, Jamaica – Delta Airlines, began service to Jamaica on Thursday, June 1, with 150 passengers arriving on the inaugural flight from Atlanta, which touched down at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston.
Delta has now become the latest international carrier offering services to the island, with non-stop flights from its Atlanta hub to Kingston. The service will bring to 17, the number of Caribbean destinations being served by Delta.
Housing, Transport, Water and Works Minister, Robert Pickersgill speaking at a press conference held at the airport shortly after the 737 aircraft landed, said that the introduction of the new service route by Delta, demonstrated the entity’s faith in Kingston as a destination.
Minister Pickersgill expressed the hope that the service would “succeed in enticing the international community to tourist attractions in Kingston and along (the island’s) south and east coasts,” noting that the expansion of Delta’s service network was “welcome news to business and holiday travellers as well as resident Jamaican families within the Atlanta catchment area.”
Turning to the expansion and redevelopment works being undertaken at the airport, Minister Pickersgill assured that while there would be instances of inconveniences, “steps will be taken to minimize the level of disruption and dislocation”.
He noted further that, “given the current intensely competitive environment of rising fuel costs, we are committed constantly to improving our airport product offerings to airlines, while ensuring that our costs remain competitive”.
In the meantime, Kingston’s Mayor Councillor Desmond McKenzie said that the commencement of flights to Kingston by Delta was a “genuine shot in the arm” in terms of efforts to reclaim the city.
Vice President of Corporate Communications at Delta, Dan Lewis also expressed optimism in the success of the venture.
Vice President of Corporate Communications at Delta Airlines, Dan Lewis (left), presents Housing Transport Water and Works Minister, Robert Pickersgill, with a model 737 airplane during a press briefing at the Norman Manley International Airport on Thursday (June 1).
“I believe this flight is going to be a great success . every day we are going to be flying non-stop between Kingston and Atlanta, but that one flight is a thousand flights, because a thousand flights every day leave from Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport and carry passengers across the Delta system, and the travellers here will have the opportunity to connect with those flights and travel on a rapidly expanding Delta domestic and international network. We are rapidly becoming the number two airline in the Caribbean and Latin American and Kingston is a key part of that,” he stated.
Furthermore, he said, the flights would be “good for business on both sides” noting that a contributory factor would be Delta’s signature “on time performance”.
Mr. Lewis said further, that the airline prided itself on community partnership, pointing out that it had played an active role in the evacuation exercise following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana last year.
