Travellers from Anguilla, previously left without a daily direct flight to St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, since the withdrawal of LIAT, are now being afforded an opportunity to travel to and from there.
The service is being provided by Air Sunshine Airlines based in St Thomas. The flights started at the Clayton Lloyd International Airport in Anguilla on Thursday, November 27. “The aircraft is similar to the size that other commuters use, and it is a workhorse of the commuter industry for the last twenty years,” said Captain Moe Adili. “It is very good with passenger weight and luggage.”
The Captain also told The Anguillian: “We are providing a daily service to and from Anguilla to St Thomas, San Juan, and St Maarten – and three times a week to Dominica. We are at present providing this service in a nine-seater Cessna 402 aircraft and soon to come is a nineteen-seater Beech 1900.” Captain Adili explained, however, that the latter aircraft would be used “mainly for the longer runs like Dominica and perhaps San Juan.”
He continued: “I think we are a good fix to the market … We are proposing to have three flights to St Thomas and San Juan: one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and I am hoping to have perhaps one at midday, all on a daily basis. At the beginning and ending of the day we will also have some St Maarten flights.”
Mr Adili hoped that with the upcoming season the service provided by Air Sunshine would be of much benefit to Anguilla’s tourism industry and the island in general. Stressing the daily service, he stated that the flights to St Thomas and San Juan would be on a supply and demand basis, and he hoped that travellers from Anguilla would support the service, thus giving the commuter airline an opportunity to serve the needs of the Anguillian community.
Mr Raymond Reid is the Director of Stations for Air Sunshine Airlines, and the Anguillian employee at the counter at the Clayton Lloyd International Airport is Ms Lydia Webster.
