Swoop a Canadian airline is expanding its service to Jamaica with the addition of bi-weekly non-stop flights between Toronto and Kingston on Fridays and Wednesdays. These additional bi-weekly flights are in addition to four weekly flights now provided from Toronto and Hamilton to Montego Bay on Fridays, Thursdays, Sundays, Sundays, and Tuesdays.

On Wednesday, December 8, 2021, 142 passengers and staff arrived at the Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston Jamaica from Toronto Canada.

Acting Deputy Director of Tourism, Marketing Peter Mullings; Her Excellency Emina Tudakovic, Canada’s High Commissioner to Jamaica; Camille Needham, Executive Director, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA); and Joy Roberts, Executive Director, Jamaica Vacations Limited (JAMVAC), were the officials on hand.

Bert van der Stege, Swoop’s Head of Commercial and Finance, accompanied them.

Mr Mullings commended Swoop for their faith in Jamaica as a destination, particularly in the city of Kingston which is not typically known for tourism, as he welcomed the new service.

“I think this shows that there is a great opportunity for us here to really expand and take advantage of the airline coming in. It [also] shows that we have a lot of demand in Jamaica, not only from Canadians but also the Diaspora,” said Mullings.

The new service, according to High Commissioner Tudakovic, has increased flight alternatives from Canada to Jamaica, and he encourages travellers to take advantage of it.

Mrs Needham said the service “will do a lot for us,” adding that the JHTA has been working hard to market Kingston and show that the capital city has the potential to be a popular tourism destination.

“There are so many things that are exciting and peculiar to Kingston… [and we] have a lot of high hopes for the success of [these flights],” Mrs Needham added.

Mrs Roberts stated that Kingston is an important market for the Canadian market, noting that the North American country has a large Diaspora population.

“So, we’re happy to have Swoop coming in out of an important market such as Canada,” she said

Chief Operating Officer at PAC Kingston Airport Limited, which operates NMIA, Dale Davis, said the entity is “particularly pleased” with Swoop’s vote of confidence in Jamaica, especially Kingston.

“Two flights a week [into Kingston] represent a big boost for us in terms of our traffic, which has been devastated by COVID-19. So we are looking forward to even more flights, and we will do all we can to support you,” he said.

Mr. van der Stege, for his part, said Swoop was happy to be providing the new service, adding that “as we collectively recover from the devastating impact that COVID-19 had on our industry, we’re looking forward to adding more flights between Jamaica and Canada in [the] future.”

Swoop, a WestJet subsidiary, is situated in Hamilton, Ontario, and offers flights to destinations across Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, and the United States.