After about nine months of delays, BVI Airways is scheduled to begin direct flights between Miami and Tortola next month, according to an announcement from the Miami International Airport.

“BVI Airways will begin MIA’s first-ever service to Tortola, British Virgin Islands on July 22,” a June 13 press release from the airport states.

The government-subsidised airline will travel between the two destinations on Saturdays and Sundays, arriving in Miami at 9:30 a.m. and departing for the Virgin Islands at 4:30 p.m. on those days, MIA Director of Communications Greg Chin told the Beacon.

The scheduled flights are still subject to regulatory approval by the United States Transportation Security Administration.

That approval had apparently not been granted as of yesterday afternoon, but TSA Information Officer Sari Koshetz said that BVI Airways is expected to be approved by July 22.

Though the airport announced the scheduled flights last week, BVI Airways and government have not released a statement on the matter. Neither BVIA publicist Sachkia Barnes nor BVIA marketing director Ron Weiss responded to interview requests.

There also doesn’t appear to be any way to schedule or book tickets for such flights on BVI Airways’ website.

“We’re just over the horizon … coming soon!” the website stated as of Wednesday afternoon.

BVI Airways did, however, announce on Monday that it has now received regulatory approval from the FAA to begin flights to the US.

“This brings us one major step closer to begin bringing this much-needed ‘game-changing’ service to the British Virgin Islands,” BVI Airways CEO Jerry Willoughby said in the Monday announcement.

Delays

BVI Airways was originally supposed to begin direct flights to the US by last October in exchange for receiving a $7 million taxpayer subsidy, according to its January 2016 agreement with government.

At a July 2016 press conference, however, Premier Dr. Orlando Smith pushed that timeline back by a month, telling reporters that travellers would likely be able to purchase a direct flight from the company by Thanksgiving.

After 2016 ended with still no announcements for when direct flights would begin, BVI Airways stated in January that it received regulatory approval from the United Kingdom, and that it expected to begin flights soon.

“The actual flight to Miami requires a US approval, which we expect to take about 45 days once we’re approved [by the UK],” BVI Airways Chairman Scott Weisman said at a Jan. 18 business conference. “So our goal is to start local service, to fly inter-island using the BVI as a hub, and once we have approval to start our regular scheduled service to Miami.”

Officials were tight-lipped after that, until a BVI Airways executive reportedly said at an April airline “open house” — from which this newspaper was barred, despite receiving an invitation — that flights should begin by June.

Dr. Smith confirmed those reports later that month in House of Assembly.

“Commencement of flights is now dependent on when final approvals are received from the various authorities in the United States, such as the Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation [Administration], and Transportation Security Administration,” he said at the time. “I am aware that BVI Airways recently announced publicly that it hopes to commence flights in June 2017, but as this matter is out of my government’s hands I am not at liberty to say definitively when this would occur.”

The airline received DOT approval in late April.

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