Time for Air Jamaica to fly again

THE ECONOMIC fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic should heighten our awareness of how fragile Jamaican tourism industry is and how dependent we are on the US dollar for sustaining our financial stability. In light of this, I think it’s imperative that we take a fresh look at our tourism product, especially at which methods of transportation are available.

We are presently very dependent on foreign-owned airlines and cruise ships, and considering the tremendous growth that Jamaica had enjoyed pre COVID-19, we should give serious thought about restarting our national airline again.

I believe that the time is right for the new Air Jamaica to be back so as to make our tourism product more formidable.

We need to reopen and restart our tourism economy with some proper planning, and I can think of no better way to provide that thrust than to launch our new airline, which should have the participation of every major tourism stakeholder and any Jamaican who is interested to invest in this most crucial of national ventures.

We need to move forward with a most positive attitude to reopening our economy, of which tourism is the lifeblood. Not only must we create significant excitement for our visitors to be once again reminded that Jamaica is ‘sweet mon’, but we must also invigorate every Jamaican to participate in restoring that which is vital to each and every one of us.