The Bermuda Government has paid out a total of $3 million to airlines to maintain daily flights from Toronto, according to a Government notice.

The notice, which appeared on page 30 of yesterday’s edition of The Royal Gazette, stated that the Ministry of Tourism paid Air Canada $2 million and WestJet $1 million to “continue providing direct, non-stop air service between Bermuda and Toronto’s Pearson International Airport”.

According to the notice, the agreement covers the period between November last year and October 31 this year.

The notice comes a week after the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) cited decreasing airlift to the Island as a significant contributor to a fall in air arrivals.

Bill Hanbury, the BTA’s chief executive officer, stated that air arrivals to the Island in the first quarter of this year were 6.7 per cent lower than for the same period last year, while airlift had fallen 14.5 per cent. Mr Hanbury also stated that he planned on meeting with private sector stakeholders to discuss strategies to improve airlift to the Island.