Barbados still high on Virgin’s list

Days after announcing the suspension of its summer 2022 flights from Manchester to Barbados due to low demand, Virgin Atlantic Airways is giving the assurance that it will continue to up the ante when it comes to airlift to this country.

A spokesperson for the airline said Bridgetown remained one of “the most loved” destinations for its crew and customers, and it would continue to increase capacity on existing routes while connecting the island with a direct flight out of Scotland.

On Monday, the airline said “As we consider our longer-term flying programme, we’ve taken the decision to suspend our Manchester-Barbados flying during summer 2022, reflecting the focus of customer demand that we’re seeing for Barbados as a winter sun destination.”

However, in a subsequent note on Thursday, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told Barbados TODAY the suspension of the summer flight was only up until October, while insisting that the airline remained committed to connecting customers from the north of England to Bridgetown.

The spokesperson gave the assurance that Virgin would be returning to flying from Manchester next October for the winter season, after a short “hiatus”.

“Our Manchester-Barbados services are currently operating 4-5 times per week and will continue to do so for the rest of the winter 2021 schedule, helping our Manchester customers enjoy an escape to the sun as travel restrictions ease further. We remain absolutely committed to serving this Caribbean route from our home in the north of England,” said the Virgin representative.

Pointing to a “strong relationship” with the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), the spokesperson said Virgin was looking forward to working with that agency “on future opportunities”.

“We know our customers adore travelling to Barbados, which is why we are thrilled to be launching flights from Edinburgh in December  and up gauging to a larger plane on our Heathrow flights next summer.”

Edinburgh airport is Scotland’s largest and busiest airport, serving more than 12 million passengers per year.

The new flight connecting Scotland to Barbados is expected to begin on December 5 and will operate twice weekly – Wednesday and Sunday, making the island’s Scotland’s only direct route to the Caribbean.

Virgin Atlantic introduced its flagship Airbus A350 to Barbados, increasing flights to the region from Heathrow by nearly 300 per cent due to a surge in demand after the UK opened up to international travel. (MM)