That BermudAir launched AnguillAir, with non-stop flights to Anguilla from Boston, Massachusetts, and Baltimore, Maryland, beginning on December 17 (see related story) is noteworthy. It was called a major milestone, especially because most of the island’s tourists come from the US north-east corridor.
In this case the airlift will be provided by a regional carrier with local branch rather than an American one. That is also important to make the destination less dependent on the latter.
Reconstruction of the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport terminal scheduled to reopen next November obviously played a positive role in this development. There is a phased, demand-driven expansion plan, which includes extending the runway to accommodate larger aircraft and increased passenger and cargo volumes.
Concern has been expressed about the impact all this will have on the hub function of St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA). However, a report in the June 6-7 edition of this newspaper stated that during February and March respectively 5,164 and 5,920 guests arrived in Anguilla by plane, compared to 17,922 and 16,075 by sea.
The latter come mainly on ferries from the terminal near PJIA and the one in Marigot. This automatically means “The Friendly Island” provides by far the biggest flow of visitors.
Of course, this can change as Anguilla attracts more flights from North America and other major markets, but economic growth in any one of the so-called Northern Islands, including St. Barths, tends to benefit the others. In that sense, they have pretty much interwoven economies.
