Jamaican pilots lead AA’s return to ‘The Rock’
WESTERN BUREAU:
MORE THAN 40 American Airlines pilots were born in Jamaica, and of that lot, two of them were responsible for steering the first flight of 126 passengers to the island on Monday as the island reopened its tourism sector.
Captain Shaun Nelson and First Officer Bethoya Powell, from Montego Bay and Tower Isle, respectively, safely landed a Boeing 737 aircraft on the tarmac of the Sangster International Airport with the aim of helping to restart the Jamaican economy.
The aircraft, which left Miami, Florida, at 11:30 a.m., arrived in the tourism capital city of Montego Bay at 12:40 p.m.
“An economy which needs tourism for its survival. This is really a special occasion for us,” Nelson told The Gleaner.
And although he would have loved to have seen his parents,
Montegonians Arthur and Barbara Nelson, he and his crew were not even allowed to leave the boarding gate or shop dutyfree owing to the new protocols associated with COVID-19 prevention.
Powell, Nelson said, was responsible for the roster that brought them together on the same flight – in her role as pilot manager in Dallas, Texas.
“This is home for us. It is near and dear to us,” the 20-year veteran stated, adding how proud and excited she was to be part of the flight.
Powell said that American Airlines has sought to maintain COVID-19 social-distancing protocols by keeping the middle seats empty.
“The aircraft is fogged and sanitised. All the passengers must wear face masks, as we do everything to make the travel industry as safe as possible,” she told The Gleaner.