Jamaica welcomes direct flight service with Dom Rep
Published:Friday | November 18, 2022 | 12:07 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, has applauded the “tremendous efforts” of Angie Martinez, ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Jamaica, to increase regional interconnectivity, trade and investment since assuming office.
This after the island welcomed the establishment of direct flight service between both nations through Dominican flagship, Arajet airlines.
The inaugural flight arrived at the Norman Manley International Airport on Monday at 5:50 p.m. Among the passengers was Victor Pacheco, chief executive officer and founder of Arajet, who was greeted at the airport by Johnson Smith, and Aubyn Hill, minister of industry, investment and commerce.
Arajet – an ultra-low-cost airline – will now offer customers two non-stop round trip flights per week on Mondays and Fridays from Kingston and Santo Domingo for under US$300.
Air connectivity between Jamaica and the Dominican Republic will reduce cost, as well as the travel time from as much as 20 hours to approximately one hour and ten minutes.
Johnson Smith said this brings exciting possibilities to Jamaica and Dominicans alike, and augurs well for the tourism industry.
“Jamaica and the Dominican Republic share a very important and productive bilateral relationship. We have advanced cooperation in various areas, including tourism, agriculture, education [and] health,” she said.
In response, Ambassador Martinez said:
“Today is a day when emotions overwhelm me. I have had many good moments in Jamaica since my arrival in this beautiful land of Bob Marley, but without a doubt, today will remain forever in my heart as one of the most remarkable one.”
She agreed with Johnson Smith that this new non-stop flight will not only facilitate the growth of tourism, but bring cultures and people closer together.
“Achieving air connectivity between Jamaica and the Dominican Republic has been one of our most important goals, since we arrived here in Kingston ... I raised the issues and outlined our plans to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who supported us 100 per cent in our efforts,” she said.
She said the authorisation for this inaugural direct commercial flight was received in July, and marks a diplomatic achievement for which she is grateful.
Pacheco said it took Arajet eight years for the arrival of Monday’s flight to take place.
“In order to achieve what you see today, we had to overcome legislation [and] regulations. We had to overcome learning a lot more about connectivity in the region and building a team,” Pacheco said.
He said, in the past, persons would question why he stuck with this vision over the passing years. His response, he says, was that it was ‘something God placed in his heart to fulfil’.