Delta Air Lines’ two new flights to the Cayman Islands from Detroit and New York made their first landings at Owen Roberts International Airport on Saturday, 20 Dec., bringing planeloads of Christmas visitors.
Mascot Sir Turtle and representatives of the Department and Ministry of Tourism were on hand to greet the tourists and returning residents when the planes touched down within an hour and a half of each other. Two fire trucks were also in place to give the traditional water-cannon welcome to the inaugural flights.
The Delta flights bring to four the number of new routes introduced to Cayman last week, following the launch of flights from Toronto and Ottawa by Canada’s Porter Airlines on 16 and 19 Dec., respectively.
Tourism Minister Gary Rutty told the Compass the launch of the Delta routes, on the heels of the Porter flights and other new ones by Southwest, JetBlue and Spirit Airways recently, was “very important for Cayman as a premier destination”.
“We’re continuing to grow, and it’ll be a bright future ahead for Cayman,” he said, shortly after welcoming visitors landing from the US on Delta.
Commenting on the double dose of the new Delta routes Saturday, he said, “Delta recognises what we have here to offer as a product. Cayman is the gem of the Caribbean, and it’s a very sought-after destination.”
The new routes launched in recent weeks are not just desirable, but arguably necessary, with hundreds of new hotel rooms coming online next year with the completion and planned openings of ONE | GT and the Grand Hyatt.
Cayman’s growing room capacity is also an incentive for airlines adding Grand Cayman to their roster of routes, Director of Tourism Rosa Harris said.
She said Cayman had been able to demonstrate to Delta and other airlines the strength of the islands’ economy and tourism industry since the borders reopened following the pandemic.
“The growth of the room stock has been one of the most compelling reasons for airlines [to come to Cayman],” she said.
Both of the new Delta routes are seasonal, running from December to April, and will operate weekly on Saturdays.
The Detroit flight is a relaunch of the route that was discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic, while the New York-Grand Cayman flight is new for Delta.
Commenting on the Delta flight from JFK International Airport, Harris said, “We always believed that we had an opportunity to do more out of the New York market.
“There are similar products and luxury destinations in the Caribbean that are carrying way more air seats out of JFK than we are, so we were able to pick up discussions with Delta on this JFK route, because it was planned pre-COVID, but never got to lift because of COVID.”
Delta joins JetBlue and Cayman Airways offering direct flights from JFK to Owen Roberts.
Related Videos
