Sheila Sealy Monteith, Jamaica's ambassador to Belgium and permanent representative to the European Union — who also has accreditation to France, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain — confirmed to the Jamaica Observer that plans are far advanced to have a charter flight leave Amsterdam on Saturday and arrive in Kingston early Sunday morning.
This confirmed a recent tweet from Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith, who urged Jamaicans in Europe wanting to come home to book the flight.
One Jamaican in an e-mail to Sealy Monteith indicated that, while she was looking forward to the first flight coming into the island from Europe since the borders were closed on March 24, she is worried that it is landing in Kingston where there are more positive COVID-19 cases than in Montego Bay.
On Monday, officials of the Ministry of National Security said they were unable to provide details on the scheduled flight from Amsterdam, but confirmed that discussions are under way to bring Jamaicans home from several countries.
Last week, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of National Security Matthew Samuda told the Senate that more than 22,000 applications to travel to Jamaica have been received through two portals registering requests from Jamaicans wanting to return home and potential visitors since May.
