Port Authority Committed to Meeting Deadlines in Preparation for Frontier Airlines' Arrival in February

  • Staff Consortium
  • November 23, 2020
comments
1 Comments

Frontier Airlines By. GETTY IMAGES

The Virgin Islands Port Authority said during a board meeting last week that it has been making preparations to receive Frontier Airlines, which will start weekly flights to St. Thomas beginning in February. 

Speaking during the board meeting, VIPA Executive Director Carlton Dowe revealed that the authority was indelible to securing Frontier's decision to serve the territory during meetings with the Office of the Governor, the V.I. Department of Tourism and VIPA in Florida in March.

Mr. Dowe said a lot of the preparatory work is now left up to VIPA, including some information technology (IT) implementations at what will be Frontier Airlines' counter space that must occur before the airline commences service.

"We clearly have some answers for them and some deadlines to meet so that come February the territory, St. Thomas in particular, would be prepared to take care of them," Mr. Dowe said. He also thanked VIPA employees who participated in the meeting with Frontier.

"Staff have already been on notice to make sure that this rollout happens correctly," the executive director added.

Starting in February 2021, Frontier will serve St. Thomas (STT) with flights twice each week from Orlando International Airport (MCO), Florida’s busiest airport based on volume of passengers.

Expressing confidence that the new air service bodes well for the growth of tourism-related activity and revenues, Dept. of Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boschulte said, “As we welcome more stayover visitors to our shores, we expect to see a concomitant increase in visitor expenditures at restaurants, retail and grocery stores, attractions and activities,” while noting that arrivals in the territory have risen steadily since the resumption of leisure travel in September. 

 

 

Get the latest news straight to your phone with the VI Consortium app.