Until the 1970s Road Town residents had an easy option when they wanted to catch a flight out of the territory. Before Road Harbour became so crowded, seaplanes landing there would allow residents to avoid driving to the airport on Beef Island.
In Virgin Gorda’s North Sound, visitors and residents now have the same option. Connecticut-based Shoreline Airlines, which operates a seaplane service out of the United States Virgin Islands, has been making charter flights between North Sound and St. Thomas since the start of the high tourist season, which began last November.
The company has ceased service for this season but plans to restart for next year’s busy season, according to Richard O’Such, Shoreline’s manager of Caribbean operations.
“We’ve already got some pretty strong bookings for next year during the holiday times. Whether or not we bring one plane or two planes — we operate up here with five planes — that’ll just depend on how the certification goes and what the advanced bookings look like,” he said.
The planes — eight-seat Cessna 208 Caravan Amphibians — have pontoons with wheels in them and can take off or land on water and on traditional runways, he added.
See the June 27, 2013 edition for full coverage.
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