Minister Wants More Jamaican Pilots Trained At Home

Robert Montague

Minister of Transport and Mining Hon. Robert Montague, says a drive is on to get more Jamaicans trained locally for the airline industry, especially pilots.

Speaking while on a tour of the Tinson Pen-based Aeronautical School of the West Indies (ASWI) in St. Andrew on Wednesday (December 29), the Minister said some 3,000 persons from Jamaica are in South Florida, in the United States, doing pilot training, and he wants to see that number reduced.

“The aim is to get a lot of those Jamaicans home, to be trained here. Jamaican pilots are known for their skills and technical ability,” Mr. Montague said. He noted that with training being offered at the ASWI, the ministry is hoping that this will enable more Jamaicans to be trained locally. The school was recently certified by the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) and Minister Montague added that over 60,000 pilots are needed, globally.

The agency is seeking to certify two other organizations to increase training, he said, as it is “much cheaper to be trained in Jamaica,” and persons can start at a younger age when the training is done locally. He said his ministry is pushing to have more landing strips and more Jamaicans owning airplanes, as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is forcing more persons to do their own flying.

“Having a plane is not a luxury, it is now a necessity,” he said, noting that more landing strips will be approved to increase flights. Mr. Montague further added that he had asked the ASWI to increase aviation knowledge across the island, and “they have risen to the occasion,” by designing a flight simulator.

They are taking it to schools and to rural areas, and the Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) will be offering scholarships to persons living close to aerodromes, to further expand the aviation industry.

He also said the government has invested hundreds of millions to build pilot lounges at aerodromes, and improved runways and other amenities at the facilities, as well as trained and employed air traffic controllers.

“We are investing in general aviation,” the Minister said.