Virgin Atlantic makes its inaugural landing in Tobago

Virgin Atlantic Airways Boeing 747-400 aircraft touched down at Crown Point airport at 2.31pm yesterday with millionaire owner and chairman of the airline, Sir Richard Branson waving TT’s national flag from an  aperture atop the cockpit area of the sleek red and white aircraft. His upper body clad in matching nationally-coloured red long-sleeved jersey ap-peared to be springing out of the Boeing 747 as it taxied closer to the terminal.

A white track-type pants completed the picture when the dapper-looking Sir Richard stepped unto the tarmac, heralding the commencement of Virgin Atlantic’s once-weekly direct flight from London to Tobago. Some 400 passengers were on board. “It means that it brings to Tobago an average of 300 additional passengers per week; when calculated in dollars and cents, translates into something like $25 million a year, (US)!” Secretary for Tourism at the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Neil Wilson told Newsday. “That is what it means in terms of finances; it obviously means a lot more job security on the island, because once tourism becomes sustainable one will expect your tourism to last all during the 12 months of the year”, he explained.

Speaking on the tarmac, earlier, Sir Richard said he expected the flights into Tobago to increase in time. “Tobago is very popular; people love it when they come here, so I hope that we will be up to four, five, six flights in time”. Why Tobago? “I am told... This is my first time here, but I am told, it is one of the most beautiful islands in the world; everywhere I go people say to me, ‘can’t you put direct flights into Tobago?’, because they’re fed up with having to, you know, go to Grenada or Antigua or somewhere else along the way”, the Virgin Atlantic Chairman told Newsday.