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.

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.

Powell said that American Airlines has sought to maintain COVID-19 social-distancing protocols by keeping the middle seats empty.