A JetBlue flight attendant, who allegedly lied about her abduction in Jamaica after testing positive Covid-19, has been fired by the airline.
Kalina Collier recently visited Jamaica, where she convinced hundreds of thousands of social media users that she was being held against her will. Jamaica police say Collier made false claims because she didn’t want to follow the country’s strict quarantine order.
Collier arrived in the country on January 28 and was scheduled to depart on February 1. But after testing positive, she left on Feb. 14 following a mandatory two-week quarantine, a spokesperson for the Jamaica Constabulary Force told Travel Noire, adding that Collier lied about the entire situation.
“She came into the island, and she tested positive for COVID-19. As a part of our protocol, she was immediately placed in isolation at the hotel that she was staying at,” said Stephanie Lindsay who serves as the superintendent for the police station.
According to Lindsay, isolation on the island meant that Collier was confined to her room at Ocean Coral Spring. She would not be able to leave her room to interact with the staff or guests, and food could only be delivered.
For the past few days, a hashtag #findkalina started to make its rounds on Instagram under a page named @oceancoral_lied. The page appears to contain posts from Collier’s family and friends, demanding updates on her whereabouts.
The page has since been deleted. According to Lindsay, her mom traveled to Jamaica and made sure everything was okay.
JetBlue has not yet responded to our request for comment, but Secret Flying reports the airline let Collier go.
“[We] apologize to the people of Jamaica and the Jamaican government for the concern and frustration this incident has caused,” JetBlue released in a statement. “We have full confidence in Jamaica’s health protocols, and it is important everyone follows the rules. We hold each JetBlue crewmember to the highest standards when it comes to personal integrity, and we are conducting an urgent investigation into the actions of our crewmember.”
As for Collier, she’s lucky to get out of Jamaica without facing criminal charges.
“We could’ve criminally charged her with creating public mischief for this entire situation,” said Lindsay, “It’s really unfortunate, but this look makes Jamaica’s image look bad. At no point was she ever in danger. Her statements were clearly mischievous.”
Lindsay did not confirm if Jamaica officials would ban Collier from the country. She did, however, reiterate the country has strict quarantine procedures.
“If people come here and test positive, they will have to quarantine for at least 14 days or until they get medical clearance to travel.”
Related: New Travel Regulations Are Making Summer Travel To Jamaica More Complex