WESTERN BUREAU:

There were no rooms in Montego Bay to house the 155 passengers and seven crew members on the American Airlines (AA) flight that had to make an emergency landing at the Sangster International Airport yesterday, as a result of engine problems.

"It is true that there are no accommodations available," said Martha Pantin, AA's director of communications, in response to questions posed by THE STAR.

She added: "But, fortunately, we were able to accommodate passengers on our regularly scheduled flights this afternoon (yesterday) to MIA and DFW (Dallas Forth Worth)."

A number of the tourism capital's hotels have reported high occupancies as a result of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival and a series of group bookings pushing up the island's arrival figures.

The Boeing 757 aircraft, flight # 966, which left Quito, Ecuador at 10:37 a.m. yesterday was diverted to Montego Bay when the captain decided to land there as a matter of precaution, after noticing unusual signs in the right engine of the aircraft.

En route to Miami, the flight was travelling over the Cayman Islands when it reportedly developed the engine problems.

The plane landed without incident and all passengers deplaned normally, but not before three fire units stood ready at predetermined positions to deal with any eventualities arising from the emergency landing.

The aircraft was still parked at the airport up to press time last night, awaiting inspection and possible repairs by AA mechanics that were being flown in from the United States.

Meanwhile, the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority said it was in contact with American Airlines authorities as part of its investigations into the incident.