On November 20, 2021, Cape Air – piloted by the smiling Ms Alicen – taxied up the runway at the Clayton J Lloyd International Airport. The inaugural flight from St Thomas to Anguilla was greeted by the President of Cape Air, Ms Linda Marcum; a small group of ministerial and other government agency officials, members of the media; and other on-lookers gathered at the airport.
At the time, the Cape Air Cessna – a small Massachusetts airline – presented a promising and viable option for travellers between Anguilla and the neighbouring islands.
Minister with responsibility for Tourism, Mr Haydn Hughes, welcomed Cape Air back to Anguilla and stressed the importance of its service to Anguilla. He noted: “This opens up the USVI, the BVI, and Puerto Rico to our people and our visitors.”
Parliamentary Secretary, Mrs Quincia Gumbs-Marie, spoke in absentia on behalf of the government: “We are honoured and delighted to have Cape Air as a valued tourism partner. We place an extremely high value on reliability and consistency, factors which invariably lead to strong customer satisfaction.”
Less than six months later, it was announced that Cape Air has suspended its service to Anguilla. What went wrong?
Mr Hughes offered a brief explanation at the government’s press briefing in April stating that Cape Air had suspended its service to Anguilla because of logistical and personnel issues.
This week, The Anguillian reached out to Minister Hughes for any further information on the airline’s suspended flights status. His response was short and simple – “A lack of pilots.”
