Update: More photos are available in an article at Jamaica Information Service: “Jimmy Buffet, Boscobel Aerodrome’s First Passenger”
The Jamaica Gleaner has a story on Jimmy Buffett’s inaugural flight into the new Boscobel Aerodrome airport in Jamaica: “Boscobel welcomes first flight”
The Boscobel Aerodrome, on course to becoming the island’s third international airport, welcomed its first international flight on Friday when Jimmy Buffett of Margaritaville fame touched down in his single-engine aircraft around 10:30 a.m.
A welcoming party headed by Sports Minister Olivia Grange and including Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) chairman Mark Hart, and Chris Blackwell, was on hand to mark the occasion.
The flight came ahead of the July deadline when the facility, which is still in its expansion phase, commences full operation, and an official opening planned for December to coincide with the start of the 2010-2011 winter tourist season.
Buffett, who flew in from The Bahamas, gave a thumbs-up to the facility, saying it saved time.
“I just got to say what a thrill it is to come directly into Boscobel; this just makes things so much easier,” Buffett said.
He also commended the processing by immigration officials who were brought in just for the occasion, saying the experience was “lovely”.
But Buffett might have inadvertently disclosed that the expanded facility would be named Ian Fleming Airport – in memory of the creator of the famed James Bond series – who lived and penned several of the James Bond stories just a few miles away at Golden Eye in Oracabessa, now owned by Blackwell.