Vincentian pilot realizes his dream

From the age of nine years old, Dorsetshire Hill resident Daniel Gibson wanted to be a pilot; that was his dream and that dream came through.

So, when Gibson heard that the Argyle International Airport (AIA) in his homeland would be opened on February 14 and a Sunwing charter flight from Toronto was going to land there, he had another dream, to be the pilot to take that plane to SVG.

That dream has also come true for Gibson and last Tuesday, the Dorsetshire man with the big dream went down in history as the first pilot to land a commercial airline from Toronto at the AIA.

“It had been a dream from the time the airport started. I always said I wanted to be the first and I am appreciative to the persons that made this happen,” Gibson told journalists during the flight.

Gibson who began flying for Sunwing four years ago, after moving from Air Canada (Jazz), described his reality as “exciting,” thanking the persons who made it possible for him to be part of the historic occasion.

“I would also like to say congratulations to Prime Minister [Dr Ralph Gonsalves], the Government and the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines. They worked very hard and they deserve it,” said Gibson.

The hard-working pilot also had some advice for the nation’s youth: “Whatever your dreams are, continue following your dreams; it’s really important. I looked at all the hills that were at Argyle and if you can move hills, that’s a dream. Somebody dreamt of moving those hills; they achieved it; it took a long time, but they did it.”

He said that as a youngster and now even as an adult, he tries to follow his dreams, albeit, one step at a time.

“When you really think about it, you can have big dreams. It doesn’t matter how poor or rich you are, you can have big dreams, but take it one step at a time.

“Today, our dreams have come through with this first flight. I knew that one day it was going to happen and I am so glad to be part of it,” said Gibson.

One hundred and thirty-one persons were on the inaugural Sunwing flight WG262 from Toronto. They included media workers, St Vincent and the Grenadines’ consul general in Toronto Fitz Huggins, director of Sales (Canada) SVG Tourism Office Shelley John and chair of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority Bianca Porter.