Kingstown – Virgin Atlantic completed its inaugural flight on Wednesday from London Heathrow to St. Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG), the country’s only direct service to and from Europe.
The twice-weekly service flies via Barbados and departs every Wednesday and Sunday, operating on the airline’s A330-300 aircraft boasting 237 seats.
The new services to London Heathrow airport will provide travellers from SVG with a direct link to London, alongside seamless connections onto Virgin Atlantic network via London Heathrow.
It is not clear how many passengers arrived on the inaugural flight, but the cabin crew included one Vincentian.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be here on this inaugural flight and our twice-weekly service to SVG has commenced at long last and we are thrilled that this now solidifies that long-lasting relationship and we will be bringing lots of tourists to your beautiful island,” Hannah Swift, country manager, Caribbean at Virgin Atlantic, said at a welcome ceremony.
Minister of Tourism and Culture, Carlos James told the ceremony that it was an exciting opportunity for SVG.
“We welcome Virgin Atlantic, the very first transatlantic flight to SVG since we completed the construction of the Argyle International Airport,” he said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, whose Unity Labour Party administration built the airport, which opened in February 2017, said he felt “immense joy” at the development.
“Now, with Virgin, I feel that you are lifting SVG higher, and I am very grateful for that, the people of SVG are very grateful,” the Prime Minister said, echoing his political party’s slogan from the November 2020 general elections.
(CMC)
