By Abisola Abiola

Premier of Nevis and Minister of Tourism in the Nevis Island Administration, the Hon. Joseph Parry expressed satisfaction with the return of American Eagle’s schedule flights to Nevis, after a two-year break. The Premier made the expression on Thursday night on a popular radio call-in talk show programme, “Tell Me.”

However the airline which was slated to return to Nevis on its first scheduled flight at 1:55pm on Thursday, December 16^th did not land as expected, much to the disappointment of scores of Nevisians who had turned up at the airport to welcome the flight, as it reportedly encountered problems that saw it land on sister island St. Kitts.

“The important thing is that the Eagle is back and we have to ensure that that service is maintained as we seek to have not only the Four Seasons restored back to its old place but as we seek to continue the development of tourism on the island,” said the Premier. The resumption of American Eagle will see a daily flight between San Juan, Puerto Rico direct to Nevis on the airline’s Super ATR aircraft, which has a seating capacity of 64 passengers.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nevis Tourism Authority (NTA) Mr. John Hanley in an exclusive phone interview with the Leewards Times also confirmed that the American Eagle flight is up and running. He explained that the Eagle was unable to land in Nevis on Thursday as scheduled due to technical issues, “not from Nevis end. It was due to the GPS approach procedure, as a result it didn’t land at the Vance Amory airport but it was diverted to Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport until the pilots got the problem solved.”

However, he informed that the Eagle did land in Nevis on Sunday the 19^th at 1:55pm. The CEO was of the view that the resumption of the flight will affect the island quite positively. He outlined the importance of the flight to the island and made mention of the departure tax revenue it would generate for the Nevis Treasury.

“Taxi operators will benefit, shop owners and it will certainly be an added boost for tourism. It will also help in selling Nevis as a destination,” said Mr. Hanley He disclosed that the closure of the Four Seasons Resort was one of the main reasons the flight had been discontinued. “Four Seasons’ clients were the ones that kept it going and now that the Resort is reopened it is more profitable for the airline.”

He explained that passengers en route to North America and other destinations would now be able to leave out of Nevis, instead of sister island St. Kitts and that visitors to Nevis would now be able to travel direct because of the American Eagle flight.