Air Jamaica Express to Stop Flying on October 14

Air Jamaica Express will cease operations on October 14 due to the high costs of fuel, ongoing turbulence in the aviation industry and a review of market conditions, “which signaled diminishing returns,” according to a statement released by the carrier last week.

The airline connected Jamaica´s airports in Montego Bay, Kingston and Ocho Rios and also served Cuba, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic and the Cayman Islands.

Gordon “Butch” Stewart, chairman of Sandals and Beaches Resorts, has been the carrier´s major shareholder since last December. Prior to that, Air Jamaica Express was managed by Air Jamaica, which had been controlled by Stewart until he pulled out of the carrier last winter and the government took it over.