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An airline incentive program to attract increased airlift to the U.S. Virgin Islands has been renewed and published by the Virgin Islands Port Authority, VIPA announced Wednesday. VIPA’s Board of Governors approved the extension of the incentive that expired last month from December 1, 2020, through November 30, 2022, at its monthly meeting held on November 19.
To qualify to participate in the incentive program, an airline must:
- Provide airlift via a new route or add flights on an existing route already served by the airline to the Cyril E. King Airport (CEKA) on St. Thomas or the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (HERA) on St. Croix; or
- Provide flights to CEKA after 5 pm (Atlantic Standard Time).
According to VIPA, any scheduled commercial jet passenger airline or charter jet airline that currently serves or wishes to serve the USVI from outside the territory may apply for the incentive. The authority said the program waives all landing fees for the qualifying airline for one year and reduces terminal parking fees and user fees for arrival and departure by 50 percent during the incentive period. The fee waivers are applicable for one year from the start of service but cannot be extended past November 30, 2022, said the Port Authority.
VIPA Executive Director Dowe said the incentive has proved to be a successful tool used by the Department of Tourism and the Port Authority during negotiations with airline officials over the years. It was most recently utilized with Frontier Airline, which starts new service from Orlando to St. Thomas in February 2021.
