GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Stabroek News - Jamaica has been given the green light to train aviation professionals for the global markets, which will need 350,000 pilots and 480,000 mechanics by 2026. The country officially received its ‘Trainair Plus’ full membership from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) during a joint Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCCA) regional symposium at the Hilton Rose Hall, Montego Bay, on Monday. The ICAO is a United Nations specialised agency and the only global aviation standards setting body in the world. The accreditation comes as aviation faces a number of critical challenges, including “a brain drain because of retirement of skilled workers and an increase of the global fleet”, said JCCA’s director general, Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Derby.