ST JOHN’S, Antigua – WestJet is now back in Antigua and Barbuda, providing Canadian travellers with another means of escaping the cold winter and finding themselves in the sunny twin-island paradise.
On Sunday, the Canadian airline resumed service to Antigua and Barbuda, for the first time following over a year’s absence. A symbolic water cannon salute showered the WestJet aircraft on touchdown at the V.C. Bird International Airport. A total of 94 passengers arrived on Sunday’s flight.
Minister of tourism and investment, Charles Fernandez; chief executive officer of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Colin C. James; director of operations at the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority, Joseph Samuel; general manager of Caribbean Airport Services, Craig Richards, alongside other tourism stakeholders were present to officially welcome back the carrier and to greet arriving passengers.
The tourism minister called the airline’s arrival great news, as Canada is a key source market for the country.
“Heading into the winter season, our tourism forecast is extremely positive as we see consumer travel confidence grow and demand for the destination increase. Having WestJet back is a tremendous boost for us, and we are excited by the return.” He continued: “Within the last twenty months we have put in place a number of measures to ensure all our visitors have a #sunseasafe vacation in Antigua and Barbuda.”
Antigua and Barbuda’s latest travel advisory issued on November 18, now allows fully vaccinated arriving passengers the option of presenting a RT PCR test negative result of four days or fewer from date of testing, OR an approved Rapid Antigen test negative result of three or fewer days from date of testing to be permitted entry into Antigua and Barbuda. The list of approved Rapid Antigen tests is provided on the official tourism website.
WestJet will continue a weekly Sunday service to Antigua’s V.C. Bird International Airport until next month when the service will be increased to twice a week.
