The Air Jamaica memorabilia that would be seen leading up to the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston has been completely ruined according to some patriotic but now angry Jamaicans.
The Jamaica Aviation Club shared this photo of the freshly repainted tail of Air Jamaica plane and people got mad.
“I’m sure a lot has seen it by now. This is garbage, an embarrassment to what was there before. The worsed part is the colours suck and the typography sucks. First of all, why do we need text? It already said a lot with the original design,” said Clayton.
“I’m mad about this! That was a sentimental piece of our history that was repainted. Why tamper with something that meant so much to so many?” a man asserted.
“They took away everything to remind us of Air Jamaica,” a woman added.
Some were more accepting:
“So glad. .. I was there in May and was thinking when they are going to change it…Thank you,” Althea said.
“I love the new design although the Air Jamaica tail will be missed,” a middle-aged woman said.
“They should have left it. It was the last remnant of the Air Jamaica airline. The airline is a part of Jamaica’s history. Or put it in a museum and construct a new one with the new design. The new one looks nice though,” another woman added.
The sale of the airline in 2010 to Trinidad-owned Caribbean Airlines was super controversial. No one knows exactly when the memorabilia repainted but people are not happy about it.
“The Government understands the emotions that are aroused in determining the future of Air Jamaica,” the then PM, Brue Golding said. “All of us share the pride that those colourful aeroplanes evoke, whether we are seated in one of them or watching from the ground as they soar to their wuthering heights. But that pride has come at a huge cost … and it has helped to deprive us of the pride we should have been able to have in seeing our children go to good schools and the sick to good health facilities. We have to get our priorities right!”
The Norman Manley International Airport was named in honour of National Hero and former Premier of Jamaica, the Hon. Norman Washington Manley. The Airport Operator, NMIA Airports Limited, [a wholly-owned subsidiary of Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ)], commenced operation of NMIA in 2003 October; based on a 30-year Concession Agreement with the AAJ, with specific performance targets.
