That is type of hilarious. Authorities in Jamaica have claimed that Emirates is launching flights to the nation. Emirates denies that it’s launching flights to Jamaica. Authorities in Jamaica have responded to Emirates by basically claiming the airline doesn’t know what it’s speaking about…
Jamaica Tourism Minister touts new Emirates flight
Yesterday I got here throughout a narrative on Fb about how “Emirates Airline connects Jamaica to Center East.” I remembered that it was April Fools’ Day, so I figured it was a joke… however then I noticed that the story was truly revealed on March 27, 2025. Huh?! Because the story explains:
New flights out of Dubai to Montego Bay will see Jamaica much more related to the Center East. On April 10 the Sangster Worldwide Airport in Montego Bay will welcome its first Emirates Airline inbound flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The flight will kick-start a weekly schedule of Emirates Airline plane arriving and departing Jamaica by way of Frankfurt, Germany. Emirates will function the route with a Boeing 777-300 plane.
So I then discovered the beneath clip of a latest interview with Jamaican Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, speaking about this service. In it, he says issues like:
- “After 5 years of engaged on breaking by means of the Center East market, MENA international locations, and GCC international locations, and discovering a getaway to India, Emirates, the biggest airline on this planet, will fly to Jamaica from Dubai by means of Frankfurt”
- “This can be a massive achievement for Jamaica, 5 years in the past we went and met with the chairman of Emirates, and at that assembly, we had an understanding that there could be a foundation to make Jamaica the hub for the area”
- “The flight will arrive on the tenth at 6:55PM, and it’s a 777-300 plane which brings 400 to 500 passengers”
Emirates & Jamaica disagree about new flight
It’s not clear to me whether or not authorities in Jamaica are simply confused, or are deliberately deceptive the general public to attain some factors. Whereas the declare was initially that Emirates will function a 777 as soon as weekly, in actuality, it seems like the concept is just that Emirates might be codesharing with Condor on this flight (Condor doesn’t have 777s). Bartlett mentions the 6:55PM arrival time, which is identical time that the Condor flight arrives.
Positive, Condor and Emirates could have a partnership, however to counsel that there’s going to be any significant site visitors on this flight originating within the Center East is type of laughable. Like, in the event you wished to fly from Montego Bay to Dubai in a single cease, there have been already loads of choices, with greater than as soon as weekly service.
For that matter, it’s not even clear to me that there’s a codeshare settlement right here. The flight isn’t bookable by means of Emirates’ web site, and on Condor’s web site, it appears to be an interline settlement, and never a codeshare. Condor’s flight out there is already working, so I’m unsure what precisely is reportedly beginning subsequent week.
However that is additionally the place the state of affairs has gotten even funnier. In response to all of the media consideration of Emirates launching flights to Montego Bay, a spokesperson for Emirates has reached out to a number of media shops within the nation, stating that there are “no official plans in place to begin flights to Jamaica,” and that “whereas we repeatedly consider alternatives to boost our community and serve new markets, any official bulletins relating to new routes or companies might be communicated by means of our official channels.”
When Bartlett was requested about this assertion from Emirates, he responded by saying that possibly the spokesperson wasn’t absolutely conscious of the small print of the association between Emirates and Jamaica. So the sentiment among the many public appears to be “I suppose we’ll discover out subsequent week who’s mendacity.”
Backside line
Jamaican authorities declare that Emirates is launching as soon as weekly service to Montego Bay subsequent week, by way of Frankfurt. Emirates denies this. In actuality, Condor already flies to Montego Bay, and does have a partnership with Emirates, however that isn’t going to create any substantial quantity of site visitors between the areas.
It’ll be fascinating to see what the response within the nation is subsequent week, when this extremely anticipated flight launches (or one thing).
Supply hyperlink
