ST LUCIA – VIRGIN Atlantic will cease its operations between St Lucia and London Gatwick from June 8, 2020.
But the airline said it will continue to St Lucia hotels after that date via connecting flight with partner airlines.
The St Lucia Times reported that Virgin’s departure was linked to a stalemate over the payment of subsidies to the airline.
And in a statement on the matter St Lucia’ Tourism Minister Dominic Fedee said the government was proactively seeking to address the fallout from Virgin’s departure.
Fedee said, “Over the past months, the Government of St Lucia has been in talks with Virgin Atlantic as it relates to the airline’s flights to our destination.
“During those talks, Virgin indicated to local tourism officials that in order to continue operating its existing five flights weekly in the winter months, and three in the off season summer months, it would require EC$20 million or USD7.5 million over three years.
“Two other options were presented to us which would mean a significant reduction in Virgin Atlantic flights to our shores and did not present the best return on a potential investment.
“It is our strong belief that agreeing to Virgin Atlantic’s demands for a multimillion dollar subsidy, would have opened the door for other airlines to also ask for subsidy.
“In fact, upon hearing the news that Virgin Atlantic has requested subsidies from four Caribbean governments, namely Grenada, Tobago, Antigua and St. Lucia, other airlines have been in talks with respective governments.
“While the Government of Saint Lucia appreciates the need for governments to share the financial risk on new flights until the maturing of the route, Virgin’s requests goes against our principle having been in Saint Lucia for 21 years.
“Saint Lucia presently supports Virgin Atlantic flights with marketing agreements annually but presently has no subsidy arrangements with any airline in any other tourism market. Virgin Atlantic represents seven percent of total UK arrivals.
“To proactively address any fallout that may arise from the cancellation of the Virgin Atlantic flights, the Government of Saint Lucia has been in very fruitful discussions with other carriers and has received very good feedback from at least one other airline to increase capacity from the UK Market in the very near future.
“Year to date, May 2019, Saint Lucia has recorded an 18% growth from the UK market over the same period last year.
“We anticipate even further growth with our restructured marketing thrust to maximize more of our marketing spend on Brand Saint Lucia.
“From all indications, the demand for Saint Lucia in the UK Market among Caribbean destinations is second only to Barbados and continues to be one of the most aspirational Caribbean destinations for UK travelers.
“We will continue to dialogue with Virgin Atlantic to arrive at a possible mutually beneficial relationship sometime in the future.”
