Post by connieguy on Nov 22, 2023 14:49:15 GMT -5
John Hewson has recently released a collection of photographs of the airport at Montego Bay, Jamaica (MKJS).
www.flickr.com/photos/12530375@N08/albums/72177720312729837/with/53337203521
Finding images of the modern airport is easy, of the one which preceded it difficult, and easily the most informative is that which may well have been taken on the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. It shows a line of single storey buildings, from one of which a control tower protrudes, and on the occasion of the photograph many of the bystanders are standing on the roof. The first facility on the site had been opened in 1947 and operated by Pan Am until the Jamaican government took it over in 1949. The terminal shown in 1953 was on the north side of the runway, but plans for a new terminal on the south side were announced in July 1955 and it was opened in July 1959 with parking for seven aircraft. There have been further upgrades since (information from Wikipedia, which is rather more informative on Montego than on Kingston). Clearly, this is a history which closely parallels that of Kingston and therefore in 1955 and 1957 aircraft were continuing to use the old terminal while the new one was being built. Nor were the physical challenges very different, because while constructing Kingston involved reclaiming land from the sea, much of Montego seems to have been bulit on a swamp, as is still evident from modern satellite photographs.
www.flickr.com/photos/12530375@N08/albums/72177720312729837/with/53337203521
Finding images of the modern airport is easy, of the one which preceded it difficult, and easily the most informative is that which may well have been taken on the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. It shows a line of single storey buildings, from one of which a control tower protrudes, and on the occasion of the photograph many of the bystanders are standing on the roof. The first facility on the site had been opened in 1947 and operated by Pan Am until the Jamaican government took it over in 1949. The terminal shown in 1953 was on the north side of the runway, but plans for a new terminal on the south side were announced in July 1955 and it was opened in July 1959 with parking for seven aircraft. There have been further upgrades since (information from Wikipedia, which is rather more informative on Montego than on Kingston). Clearly, this is a history which closely parallels that of Kingston and therefore in 1955 and 1957 aircraft were continuing to use the old terminal while the new one was being built. Nor were the physical challenges very different, because while constructing Kingston involved reclaiming land from the sea, much of Montego seems to have been bulit on a swamp, as is still evident from modern satellite photographs.
Construction of the new old airport has now proceeded some way and here are a series of screenshots of the reconstituted original terminal. CalClassic traffic is present, of course, but is not heavy. The stars are Delta DC-7s and Pan Am DC-6s.
BOAC L-049 Constellation in the fine paint by Frank Gonzalez parked at the terminal having just landed on Runway 06
A BWIA Vickers Viking also comes in to land and proceeds down Runway 06. Construction work is under way to the south.
Before taxying in.
