In a potential game changer for tourism in the British Virgin Islands, American Airlines has announced plans to launch nonstop flights from Miami to Tortola. 

Next summer, American will kick off the first-ever nonstop flights from the United States to the British Virgin Islands, with service set to launch on June 1, 2023. 

The new route from Miami to Beef Island Airport will be operated on Embraer 175 aircraft, with daily flights. 

The flights will run through the summer and then again starting in November 2023. 

“We are proud to operate as the leading airline in South Florida, offering our customers an unrivaled network in the Caribbean and Latin America with service from the Miami hub to more than 70 destinations in the region,” said Juan Carlos Liscano, American Airlines’ Vice President for Miami. “This year demand has remained strong for Miami travel, and we’re looking forward to further growth in 2023 with a new and unique destination in the Caribbean that our customers love – the British Virgin Islands.”

It’s a significant boon for a beloved destination that has never been particularly easy to get to. Options have typically ranged from riding the ferry from St Thomas or connecting through either San Juan or St Thomas by air. 

“We are very happy to [welcome] American Airlines to the British Virgin Islands. This venture to have direct flights between Miami and the British Virgin Islands will make it significantly easier, faster and more affordable for persons from around the world to come to the British Virgin Islands, which is one of the must-visit tourist destinations in the world,” said the British Virgin Islands’ Minister of Communications and Works, Kye Rymer. “Our residents will also benefit from convenient connections for business and leisure travel to dozens of destinations across American’s route network.” 

The British Virgin Islands remains one of the Caribbean’s top sailing destinations (anchored by The Moorings) and a growing hotel and villa product concentrated on islands like Tortola, Virgin Gorda and Anegada and smaller private islands like Cooper Island and Guana Island, among others. 

It’s part of a new effort by American to connect Miami to some of the Caribbean’s harder-to-reach destinations. That includes new routes from Miami to both Dominica and Anguilla, both of which kicked off last year. 

Both of those routes represented the first-ever US flights for each destination.