BVI Airways

Last month, the Miami International Airport announced that BVI Airways would begin its long-promised direct flights between there and Tortola on July 22.

However, the government-subsidised airline will not meet that target after all, even though it now has all the requisite regulatory approvals to do so.

BVI Airways
After reportedly stating that the Miami airport had “jumped the gun” with its June announcement, BVI Airways blamed the ongoing postponement on “delays stemming from the government of the BVI.”

According to a Tuesday statement from the airline, the direct flights to Miami will start “as soon as all outstanding obligations and matters between [government and BVI Airways] have been resolved.”

BVIA officials did not respond to Beacon requests to clarify how government — which has subsidised the company with more than $7 million, some of which was paid before it was contractually due — has contributed to the airline’s delays; what outstanding obligations exist between the parties; and why BVI Airways is not making the July 22 start date announced by MIA.

Government did not respond in detail to BVI Airways’ claim that it has contributed to the delays, but Premier Dr. Orlando Smith released a statement yesterday asserting that his administration has fulfilled its end of the deal with the airline.

“The government has fully discharged its responsibility to BVI Airways by providing $7 million as a subsidy in keeping with the terms of the agreement,” Dr. Smith said. “The government therefore hopes that BVI Airways will begin flights without any further delay.”

‘Jumped the gun’

Meanwhile, BVIA publicist Sachkia Barnes — who also didn’t respond to Beacon inquiries — has reportedly declined to provide other media in the Virgin Islands with any other details outside of Tuesday’s press release.

BVIA CEO Jerry Willoughby did, however, reportedly speak to the St. Thomas-based Virgin Islands Daily News about the missed July 22 launch date.

“While that date is being considered and was discussed with the Miami Airport Authority, no final determination has been made,” Mr. Willoughby said, according to the newspaper. “In their eagerness to share the great news, Miami International Airport jumped the gun.”

Contacted by this reporter, MIA Director of Communications Greg Chin said that the airport’s announcement that BVI Airways would begin operations there on July 22 was based on a “misunderstanding.”

“I can confirm that BVI Airways will not start service on July 22, but we do expect the service to begin this summer,” Mr. Chin stated in an e-mail, adding, “We had a misunderstanding. The July 22 date was discussed, and at one point we thought that date was final.”

Previous delays

The postponement of the July 22 launch is the latest of a series of delays for the airline.

BVI Airways originally was 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, Dr. 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.”

Tight-lipped

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, and announced on Tuesday that it has received approval from the other required agencies. Information officers for those agencies confirmed that announcement yesterday.

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