Above: a WinAir plane

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Regional air carrier Winair is adding new round-trip connections for passengers traveling from St Maarten to the British Virgin Islands on Panamanian airline Copa.

The flights will provide roundtrip connections to the British Virgin Islands for Copa passengers traveling from St Maarten.

Copa flies thorugh Panama to St Maarten from several countries in the region, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Peru.

The Copa flight was previously connected on Winair only on inbound flights to Beef Island Airport.

“Latin American travelers have shown a burgeoning interest in a Caribbean vacation as proven by the double-digit growth in arrivals recorded in the last couple years,” said Nerdin St Rose, worldwide marketing consultant for the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board. “This is an opportune time for the BVI and as such, the BVI Tourist Board has been working assiduously to attract more visitors from that region.”

The St Maarten-Tortola flights will operate on Tuesdays, Sundays and Sundays, departing from Tortola at 7:15 AM and departing from St Maarten at 4: 55 P.

The Copa flights arrive in St Maarten at 11:24 AM and depart St Maarten at 12:15 PM.

Winair operates 19-seat de Havilland Twin Otter planes into the British Virgin Islands.

“We are very excited to offer more connectivity and easier access to the BVI. Winair and Copa Airlines will be instrumental in helping us to grow that market and especially Brazil and Argentina,” St Rose said.

Winair relaunched service into Tortola at the end of last year.