Bartlett to look into Virgin's Kingston pull-out

WESTERN BUREAU:

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is expected to meet with officials from Virgin Atlantic Airways during a trip to London in the coming weeks, following news that the airline will discontinue its service between that city and Kingston in April next year.

Speaking with The Gleaner from New York yesterday, Bartlett said the talks would be aimed at examining the 2012 Tourism Programme (Jamaica 50) with the hope to mitigate against any fallout from the United Kingdom.

"With Virgin pulling out, it will affect the profitability of the Kingston airport and create some pressure on the diaspora traffic into the capital city," Bartlett said.

It is understood that Virgin's decision was buoyed by an impending unsustainability of the route. The airline will operate its last flight to Kingston from London on April 16, 2012, but its service from London to Montego Bay will not be affected by the decision.

According to Bartlett, there has been a 35 per cent decline in the market, primarily from the UK.

"In our global analysis of our markets around the world, we have noticed a softening such as in the UK and other advanced economies," he said.

"Therefore, our successful venture into South America to bring some 10,000 to 12,000 seats ahead of March next year is our strategic response to what is happening in the market."

There have also been recent announcements from the tourism ministry about arrangements to facilitate airlifts out of Poland and France into Jamaica.

Efforts to get a comment from the local office of Virgin Atlantic were unsuccessful.