Above: Fort de France, Martinique (CJ Photo)

By Alexander Britell

American Airlines will be launching direct flights from Miami to Martinique and Guadeloupe in April, the company announced.

Both will be the first nonstop flights to the French departments from the mainland US in the modern era.

The flights to Martinique’s Aime Cesare International Airport and Guadeloupe’s Pointe-a-Pitre International Airport will be operated on Saturdays on Boeing 737-800s out of Miami.

“We are ecstatic that, thanks to American Airlines, for the first time in decades, there is a flight enabling travelers to reach Martinique directly from mainland US,” said Martinique Tourism Commissioner Karine Roy-Camille.

American currently serves 60 Latin American and Caribbean destinations out of the Miami market.

“We continue to strengthen American’s service from our hub markets to better match customer demand,” said Chuck Schubert, American’s vice president for network planning. “These new routes will provide more choices for our customers with more ways to enjoy our options.”