Direct Flights Coming Soon
Prepare for takeoff!
In a recent address at the House of Assembly, Premier Andrew Fahie detailed an $158 million Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that will completely transform Tortola’s Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport into a world-class facility by 2025.
“This is the definitive progress we have been waiting for,” says Oil Nut Bay’s founder, David V. Johnson. “I have worked on this relentlessly for the past eight years. This is a total game changer.”
Perhaps the most exciting expansion inclusions are direct flights from Miami, New York, Atlanta and Charlotte directly into Beef Island. There also exists the future possibility of additional routes from Canada and Europe. With these direct flights in place, a twelve-hour day of travel is instantly reduced to a single-leg three-hour journey.
The benefits are profound. Ease of access, decreased travel time and diminished opportunity for delay paired with minimized exposure to varying environments, extraneous variables and changing crews and passengers enhances both traveler convenience and welfare immensely. An extended runway and increased routes necessitate more operational airlines, and this greater choice will result in more competitive fares.
Improvements will also include upgrades to the runway, taxiway, aircraft parking, terminal, carpark and roadway. The BVI Airports Authority (BVIAA) also plans to establish a new permanent world-class operation to handle the multiple private and business jets that fly into the territory, as well as develop a commercial aircraft fueling operation.
While the CIP will initially require financial support from the central government, a preliminary Economic Impact Study shows that this investment will soon pay off. The project is expected to create thousands of job opportunities and drive BVI tax revenues from an estimated $12.6 million in 2019 to $61.7 million by 2030.
This project will have a direct and lasting impact on Oil Nut Bay real estate values and availability.
“Choose your lot now,” encourages Johnson, “or it will most certainly be gone.”
