By the Caribbean Journal staff

In a significant boost for the hard-hit island of St Thomas, the Cyril E. King Airport is set to reopen on Thursday for commercial flights.

The announcement was made by US Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp, who commended the Virgin Islands Port Authority and the Department of Tourism “for their work in getting the airport up and running under difficult circumstances.”

Indeed, American Airlines was scheduled to fly from Miami to Charlotte Amalie on Thursday with its regular daily flights relaunching.

JetBlue was set to relaunch its San Juan-St Thomas flight on Thursday, while Delta was set to resume its Atlanta-St Thomas flight the same day.

United will be relaunching its daily Newark-St Thomas flights on Oct. 3, according to the company’s Web site.

Flight schedules will be determined by the respective airlines, and Mapp urged travelers to arrive four hours before departure in light of longer processing times.

Plans are underway to reopen St Croix’s Henry Rohlsen Airport next week, Mapp said.