New Jet Blue Crewman Arrives to Cheers at King Airport

There was a reason to cheer on St. Thomas this Sept. 11. Friends, family and mentors of a 26-year-old aviator greeted his arrival aboard a Jet Blue aircraft arriving at the Cyril E. King Airport.

Officials at the Virgin Islands Port Authority led the entourage welcoming JetBlue First Officer Gleason Thompson Jr., who arrived on a flight from Puerto Rico, serving as navigation and operations support for pilot Ryan Atwood on their first flight together.

In the moments before the arrival, father Gleason Thompson Sr. said his son grew up loving boats and planes. He said that as a child, Gleason Jr. could look at a vessel on the water or an aircraft and recite the model number and describe some of their features. That interest grew over the years, he said, and was nurtured by family and family friends like the late Kirby Hodge from ACE Flight School.

As the flight touched down on the runway shortly after 2 p.m., close to three dozen people stood and cheered. Port Authority Airport Manager Jerome Sheridan greeted the young officer after the plane rolled to a stop in front of the terminal and escorted him down to the tarmac.