By the Caribbean Journal staff

American Airlines is adding another new daily nonstop flight to the USVI hotspot of St Thomas.

The carrier will be launching a third daily flight from Miami to St Thomas for the upcoming peak winter season, according to the USVI Department of Tourism.

The new flights will launch Dec. 18, 2018, according to USVI Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boschulte.

The Secret Harbour resort in St Thomas.

The flights will run at 8:35 AM, arriving at St Thomas’ Cyril E. King Airport at 12:04 PM. The return flights will depart St Thomas at 1:04 PM, arriving in Miami at 3:10 PM.

“The addition of this flight signals another step forward for our administration as we strive to restore air service to the Territory,” Boschulte said.

The new flights will be a major boost both to St Thomas and the USVI and the neighboring BVI.

Long Bay in Tortola, BVI, which depends in part on St Thomas for much of its visitor traffic. The additional daily flight will be a welcome boost.

The Tourism Commissioner said the new flights are “most timely” in light of the highly-anticipated return of the Ritz-Carlton, St Thomas in December.

The news comes after American earlier announced plans to launch new flights from Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago to St Thomas, beginning Dec. 21.

The Dallas flights will operate year-round on Saturdays, while the Chicago service will operate seasonally on Saturdays.

And St Thomas isn’t the only USVI destination getting a boost from the world’s largest airline.

Protestant Cay in St Croix.

American Airlines will also be extending its flights from Charlotte to St Croix for the peak Christmas period, expanding flights from Saturday-only to daily flights between Dec. 18 and Jan. 4, 2020.

“I would like to thank our tourism industry stakeholders for working closely with the Department of Tourism to strengthen demand for our destination while we presented our case for increased airlift to our airline partners,” Boschulte said.