By the Caribbean Journal staff

Delta Airlines is relaunching its daily nonstop service between New York and St Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands, Caribbean Journal has learned.

The airline will be reinstating the daily nonstop route beginning May 24, due to strong bookings on the Atlanta-St Thomas, route, according to US Virgin Islands Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty.

It’s part of what will be a wave of expanded service to the Caribbean destination, Nicholson-Doty said this week.

The expansion includes Spirit Airlines, which will increase its Fort Lauderdale-St Thomas frequency to daily beginning March 10, along with JetBlue Airways, which will be operating a second daily flight to St Thomas from San Juan, beginning Feb. 15.

JetBlue will also offer daily flights between Boston and St Thomas through San Juan from Feb. 15 to May 1.

“We are very encouraged by these new developments,” Nicholson-Doty said.

While many hotels and resorts in the US Virgin Islands continue to rebuild in the wake of last year’s storms, the Commissioner said the air travel demand was being generated in large part by guests staying at smaller inns, bed and breakfasts, boutique hotels and vacation rentals, among other options.

With the latest flight additions, the U.S. Virgin Islands is now being served by approximately 13,000 seats each week – 9,000 to St. Thomas and 4,000 to St. Croix (not including intra-island service).