By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor

Thomas Cook Airlines’ inaugural flight from Gatwick Airport to Barbados launched this weekend.

The weekly flight from Gatwick joins Thomas Cook’s existing three-times weekly flights to Barbados from Manchester.

“We have a long and established relationship with Barbados and [Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc], and I am delighted that we can now offer this fantastic and beautiful destination to our customers throughout the U.K., with the addition of Gatwick to our Manchester program,” said Sharon Confue, Head of Sales U.K. for Thomas Cook Airlines.

Across Thomas Cook Group Airlines, over 265,000 seats are available to Caribbean destinations in the 2017-18 winter season, an 11 percent increase on winter 2016-17.

“We are delighted to help launch Thomas Cook Airlines’ new Gatwick flight to Barbados, an idyllic Caribbean island that always proves popular with UK travelers,” said Stephen King, Head of Airline Relations at Gatwick Airport. “Barbados has some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and clear blue seas and visitors have a wealth of activities to enjoy, from water sports and golf to the island’s rainforest and wildlife.

The 9 hour, five-minute direct flight from Gatwick operates on a Saturday on the Airbus A330-200.

It will operate from until March 23, 2018.

“It’s fantastic that we were able to mark the occasion with a lively event for customers at Gatwick Airport,” said Christoph Debus. “We’re looking forward to a successful winter programme to Barbados from both Gatwick and Manchester and are thrilled to be adding to our growing winter Caribbean programme across the group.”

“The addition of the Thomas Cook service from London to Barbados is great news, as it makes Barbados even more accessible to UK visitors,” said Cheryl Carter, U.K. Director of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. “We encourage first time travelers and our loyal visitors to take advantage of this increased capacity and, plan their next holiday in Barbados now.”