Delta Commences Saturday-Only Flights Out Of JFK Airport
Delta Airlines commenced its Saturday-only inaugural flight out of John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport in New York on December 21, bringing a fully booked DL1900 flight to the Grantley Adams International Airport.
Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Gooding-Edghill; senior officials from the Ministry, the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), and the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association; and US-AID General Development Director of the United States (US) Embassy, Steven Fondriest, were on hand to welcome the flight Captain Mark Nagel, First Officer Chad Potter, the crew, and 160 passengers.
Mr. Gooding-Edghill noted that the flight marked the fifth inaugural service out of the US and spoke of the efforts that the Ministry and BTMI had put into increasing airlift out of the US.
“The fact that the work of the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport and the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. … continues to focus on what we have to do to make Barbados a premier destination, and particularly with emphasis on the United States market, and recognising the significance of the US market to achieving continued development within Barbados’ tourism sector, we fully embrace this opportunity to drive more visitors to Barbados.
“Through our dedicated partner, airline Delta, the commencement of this weekly New York rotation is especially timely, given that the US market is showing evidence of maintaining a growth trajectory,” he said.
The Tourism Minister also shared some tourism statistics for the US market. “I’m pleased to tell you that published figures from January to September indicate that 170,595 visitors would have visited Barbados. This is 6,000 short of the published figures for 2023, but the good news those figures are only up to September. So, I can confidently predict that by the end of this calendar year, Barbados would have surpassed that 2023 number, and in fact, we are projecting to have significant growth year on year. This strong performance also coincides with the weekly, daily nonstop service from Atlanta, which also adds to the growth that we are witnessing here in Barbados,” Mr. Gooding-Edghill stated.
Mr. Fondriest noted that the increase in airlift between Barbados and the US showed that there was a good relationship. He said the increased airlift provided opportunities for economic prosperity, commerce, trade, tourism, and security.
Captain Nagel, who spoke about bringing the inaugural flight from JFK, said: “Delta is very happy to provide service to Barbados from New York, JFK Airport. This is our first flight. It went smoothly; we left freezing snow weather up in New York, and we landed in beautiful Barbados with sunny skies and some light winds. And so, we’re happy to be here.”
Author: Sheena Forde-Craigg