Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan has said government is “strongly considering” restarting a Panama route for national flag carrier Cayman Airways as a gateway option into South America.
Bryan, speaking on the Cayman Compass talkshow ‘The Resh Hour’ on Wednesday night, said with all systems go for Saturday’s inaugural LAX flight, focus will now move to opening more opportunities for the Cayman Islands to welcome more visitors from different markets.
“I hope to have, in the new year, some linkage directly from Cayman to Panama not only from a leisure perspective, but also from a trade perspective. We have a lot of business owners here who trade through Panama. So we think that there is justification from below the plane and above the plane – and that’s terminology for cargo and seats,” he said.
Cayman Airways previously ran a Panama City route, however that gateway was discontinued.
Bryan said Cayman Airways is doing the analysis to justify a Panama route and he trusts the board and its new chairman, John-Paul Clarke, “who has been getting all the data.”
He said he expects that Cayman Airways will be able to make some “new calls and some new announcements” in the early part of next year.
He also shared that two additional airlines are coming on board soon to fly directly to the jurisdiction. However, the minister said, due to commercial negotiations, he could not release the details just yet.
From 17 Dec., Sun Country Airlines, he said, is scheduled to begin a seasonal route.
That route will run from Minneapolis/St. Paul in Minnesota, weekly, on Saturdays.
He said he was excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for airlift, including increased British Airways flights from March next year.
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I thought we learnt our lesson last time. South Americans who can afford to travel want shopping opportunities as well as Florida’s beaches. They will never come here where the hotels are far more expensive and shopping not an option. The “trade” argument was put forward before and nothing transpired. The Minister needs to come back to earth.