American Airlines has scheduled a third daily flight between Miami and St. Thomas for the upcoming winter season, said U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism officials. The additional Miami departures are scheduled to begin on December 18.
The newest flights will depart Miami International Airport at 8:35 a.m. and arrive at St. Thomas’ Cyril E. King Airport at 12:04 p.m. Return flights will depart St. Thomas the same day at 1:04 p.m., landing in Miami at 3:10 p.m.
The additional American flights are “timely in light of the continuing expansion of [the US Virgin Islands’] sharing economy, as well as the return of The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas, in December,” said Department of Tourism officials in a statement.
“The addition of this flight signals another step forward for our administration as we strive to restore air service to the Territory,” said Joseph Boschulte, the US Virgin Islands’ tourism commissioner. The destination continues to re-build air service to reach levels that existed prior to the fall 2017 hurricanes.
Boschulte said American will also extend its flights between Charlotte, N.C. and St. Croix from Saturday-only to daily during the “peak Christmas period” between December 18, 2019 and January 4, 2020.
“I would like to thank our tourism industry stakeholders for working closely with the Department of Tourism to strengthen demand for our destination while we presented our case for increased airlift to our airline partners,” said Boschulte.
He added Department of Tourism will “continue to engage carriers to strengthen the aerial highways” connecting the territory “to the U.S. mainland and the global marketplace, including exploring options for additional flights to St. Croix.”
Added Boschulte, “We also look forward to working with our partners to roll out effective tactics to market our destination before, during and beyond the upcoming peak winter season.”
